The Road Home
by Alexial
Summary: After being away for almost 7 years, Hermione returns to Hogwarts with her 2 children. Yet something isn't quite right. Why was she away from England & Hogwarts for so long & what happened to cut herself off from those she loves? HG/?? Read and find out!
1. Chapter One

The Road Home

Chapter One

Twenty-nine year old Hermione Granger stared resolutely out the tinted window of the Greyhound bus. Sighing, she shifted the bundle from her left arm to her right one, trying to get slightly more comfortable in the unrelentingly hard seat. The bus was crowded and it was hot and uncomfortable, even dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

As the bundle in her arms started to squirm, Hermione looked down into the tiny face of her six month old daughter, Margaret. Smiling, she traced a finger down the infant's pudgy, rosy cheek. She shushed the baby, rocking her soothingly until she once more drifted into sleep.

"Mommy?" the timid question was accompanied by a small hand on her arm.

"Hmm?" Hermione asked, looking to her left where her five-year-old son was seated, half asleep against her side.

"How much longer, Mommy? I want to go home," the tired boy whined softly.

"I know, Cam. We're almost there." Hermione answered, smiling down at her son and smoothing his hair back with her free hand.

"Alright. Will Daddy be there when we get home?" he asked her, big brown puppy-dog eyes peering up at her.

Her heart breaking at having to disappoint him, Hermione shook her head slightly, answering, "No, Honey. Daddy won't be there."

"Oh," the little boy said, eyes immediately downcast.

"It's alright, Honey. I'm sure you'll see him really soon, I promise," she said, wrapping her free arm around him and pulling him closer to herself in a half hug.

He nodded, sniffling slightly. They sat like that, Hermione absently stroking his hair back from his forehead, until he fell into a light sleep. Resting her head back against the hard headboard, Hermione let out a sigh and cursed her ex-husband for what he did to her and the children and for leaving her to clean up his mess. She stared out the window until they reached their destination an hour later.

Waking her son, who grabbed his little backpack, she readjusted her hold on her daughter and their single bag, took her son's hand, and walked off the bus into the cool air.

Breathing a sigh at finally being off the bus, she stretched and started off towards their car, son in tow. After settling her son into his seat and her daughter into the baby seat in the back, she sat down in the driver's seat, let out another sigh and let herself relax into the cushioned seat.

"Mommy, are you ok?" her son asked.

Looking at him through the rear-view mirror, she straightened slightly and answered with a smile, "Yes, Honey. I'm fine. Let's go home, ok?"

He nodded emphatically, and turned back to the little puzzle Hermione had given him.

It took about twenty minutes to get to their street. They lived in a development of small, two family houses, each with nice lawns that were filled with toys, bicycles and active children strewn everywhere. Hermione smiled as she waived at those neighbors who were outside with their kids. Fathers were barbequing and catching up with their wives after a long week at work while children played in the streets and on the lawns.

Pulling into her driveway, Hermione smiled again as she saw the elderly woman sitting on her porch in one of the two padded rocking-chairs. She shut the car off and got out, unbuckling her children and walking towards the porch.

"Hi Flo, how's your night going?" she asked with a smile.

"Hello Hermione. It's been lovely so far, thank you," Flo said, smiling back. Bending down, she said, "Hello there Cameron. Did you have a nice trip?" she asked Cam, ruffling the little boy's hair as he nodded.

"Yes, Nana Flo! It was fun! I got to ride on a bus, in a seat all by myself! And I got to see mountains, and there were hot air balloons!!" he exclaimed excitedly, all thoughts of sleep banished from his mind.

Hermione and Flo laughed, and then turned as a little boy with dark red hair flew out of one of the doors to the house.

"Cam!!!" he exclaimed, throwing himself at Cameron, wrestling him to the ground.

"Andy, hi!!" Cam cried out, just before being tackled. 

The two women watched as the boys wrestling good-naturedly on the grass.

Flo turned to Hermione and reached for Maggie, saying, "Here, let me take her. You must be exhausted, having to handle your interview and these two little nuts for the whole day."

Relinquishing her daughter to the older woman, Hermione rolled her shoulders and her neck, loosening her tight muscles. "It wasn't bad at all, actually. The worst part was sitting on that uncomfortable bus for two and a half hours. I mean honestly! You would think they would make the things more comfortable for the longer trips," she answered.

The two sat down in the rocking chairs as they continued to talk, watching as the boys played with the toys on the lawn.

"So how did your interview go, then?"

"It went well, I hope. Merlin knows I need the money!" Hermione answered exasperated as she swiped a hand through her shoulder length hair. "I mean, really! He just…well, he left the three of us with no income, no savings…just cleaned me out! What else am I supposed to do? And I hate that the closest hospital for me is in Scranton, for Merlin's sake. It's two hours! How am I supposed to take Cam away from Andy and move away from you all? You're my family now…I can't picture living anywhere else without you!" she huffed in frustration, close to tears by the end of her tirade.

Flo got up quickly to stand behind Hermione, rubbing her back with one hand and soothing her, like Hermione had done for Cam not an hour before.

"Shhh. Everything will work out, I know it will. And even if you do have to move, we will always be your family, you know that! You've been part of this family for six years!  A little distance isn't going to change that!" she comforted.

Hermione looked up in gratitude. "Thanks Flo, I know all that, its just so frustrating!"

"I know, dear. I know."

There was silence for a couple of minutes as Flo sat down again and they each thought about the future.

"By the way, Hermione, how are _you doing?" Flo asked, looking pointedly at Hermione._

Sighing, Hermione looked wearily at Flo and thought before she answered. "I feel fine, just shaken up still. It's been three months already and still…"

"I understand, child," Flo said after Hermione trailed off. "You need more time. After what you went through, it's a miracle you're doing so well already."

"I know, Flo, I just wish it were over already. That I could not feel this way. It wasn't supposed to be like this, you know."

"I know, Hermione, it never is. Look, if worst comes to worst, you'll move back to England and stay with your parents. As much as I would hate to lose you three, it would be delightful to have to come and visit you in England," Flo joked with a mischievous smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Hermione laughed, and then her head shot up.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of it earlier? I only applied to hospitals and schools around here, in America! I could apply in England as well, so that I'll be near my parents!"

"Excellent idea, my dear! Why don't you also apply to that school you went to…what was it, Hawgarts?"

"Close, but not exactly. Hogwarts. I don't know…I'm not sure if I could face everyone, after everything that happened," Hermione answered hesitantly.

"You can't hide forever, Hermione, and no one actually knows what happened. You haven't spoken to them for years, anyway. I know that the school and hospitals here are all excellent, but you yourself have told me that this Hogwarts place and that magical hospital are the best place to be for a witch."

Hermione nodded in agreement and answered, "And I wasn't lying…it is the best place. St. Mungo's and Hogwarts are two of the most prestigious schools and hospitals in the entire Magical world."

"Then that is where you should work, for you deserve nothing less."

Hermione smiled at the older woman, "Thank you, Flo. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably go work in the mountains of Scranton, swallowed up by the snow in the winter and never to be seen or heard from again," Flo answered with a grin.

Hermione laughed and nodded, "Probably."

They were interrupted when a couple joined them on the porch.

"Evening Hermione, Mom," the tall blonde haired man greeted as he took a seat next to Flo.

"Hey Jason, Calli. How are you guys?" Hermione answered smiling at the couple.

The petite redhead sat down on her husbands lap and leaned over to give her mother-in-law a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Mom. Doing great, 'Mia. How was your interview in PA?" she asked as she waived to her son and Cam.

"It went well, I hope. Flo and I were just talking about that. I think I'm going to apply to Hogwarts, back in Scotland also."

"Is that where you went to school?" Jason asked as he twirled a strand of his wife's hair around his fingers.

"Yup, it is. And as much as I hate even the thought of moving so far away, it is one of the best school's of Magic around the world. And I would so love to see my parents. They haven't seen Cam in ages, and have only seen pictures of Maggie, and I have kind of lost contact with all my friends. It would be great to see everyone."

"Well, then they'd be lucky to have you!" exclaimed Calli. "Though we will miss you something fierce!" 

Jason and Flo nodded in agreement as Hermione looked at the three sadly. "And I, you!"

The rest of the evening was spent on the porch. Jason and Hermione made dinner and the boys joined them only long enough to eat, before going back to the lawn to play. Maggie was passed from adult to adult as the evening wore on, gurgling and cooing at everyone, until it was time for the young ones to be put to sleep.

After the boys and Maggie were tucked in, the four adults congregated in Hermione's small living room, discussing Hermione's plans for the future.

"Where else have you applied for jobs, besides the hospital in Scranton, and the one in New York City where you used to work?" asked Jason.

"I've actually applied to a bunch of Muggle hospitals around here in Jersey, as well as a couple in New York and Pennsylvania. I don't think I'm going to end up in one of those, though. The thought of not being able to openly use my magic to heal people is completely not an option for me, you know?"

The others nodded in agreement. In the six years Hermione and her husband, Damian, had been living in the house, the family she shared the house with had welcomed her into their lives with open arms. After accidentally witnessing magic being performed, Hermione had told them her secret. They are the only ones who knew of her past, for Englishtown, New Jersey is not a magical town. 

"If you do move back to England, or Scotland, are you going to unbind their powers?" asked Calli.

When Cameron, and then Maggie were born, Hermione had bound their powers to keep them from accidentally blowing something up and revealing their secret.

Hermione thought for a second before answering. "If we move into my parent's house, then no, because they live in a Muggle town similar to this one. If, somehow, I can get the job at Hogwarts or another Magical school, then I will most likely unbind them.

"It makes sense," said Flo. "Although, if you wait too long before telling Cam, he might become angry with you for keeping it from him."

"Yes, I've thought about that. I still can't believe he never saw any of the things that went on when Damian was here. He always used to do magic, not even trying to keep out of sight of Cam. And then, the last couple months he was here…well, it was a miracle that Cam didn't notice anything," she finished quietly.

It was silent for several minutes as all remembered what had happened the last couple of months Damian had lived in the house. None of the memories were pleasant and the topic was quickly changed.

The rest of the night was spent pleasantly talking about their week, their jobs, their children, and what they had planned for the upcoming summer.

When it became late, Hermione bid everyone goodnight as they made their way to their side of the house. Walking into her small study, she sat down at her desk and opened the trick drawer that was hidden in the bottom drawer of the desk.

Pulling out a stack of parchment, an ink well and a quill, she paused before composing a letter to Albus Dumbledore, asking to work in or nearby Hogwarts as a Medi-Witch.

When she was finished, she walked outside to a corner of her small backyard. She went to an open cage, hidden by magic, where her beautiful barn owl was perched, cleaning his feathers. Stroking his feathers, Hermione greeted him with a smile.

"Hello there, Tash. You up to some over-seas flying tonight?"

Tash answered with an affectionate hoot and nipped Hermione's fingers playfully.

She smiled in response and tied the short letter onto his outstretched leg. "Thanks, Tash," she replied, stroking his feathers once again. "I need you take this to Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts as fast as you can, alright?"

Tash hooted again, before spreading his wings majestically and taking off into the night.

*  *  *  *  *

Three weeks later, Hermione was once again on a Greyhound with her children. This time, however, the ride was fairly short, since she was coming from New York City. It was not any cooler than it had been before, and Hermione ached, thanks to the still unpleasant seats on the bus. She also had a splitting headache, for Cam was unusually hyper. He asked questions non-stop the entire trip home; about why they had been in a hospital in New York, if they were going to move, what England was like, etc. Maggie also contributed to Hermione's headache, squirming in her arms every time Hermione found a position that was remotely comfortable. By the time the three reached their house, Hermione gladly relinquished Maggie into the arms of Flo and sank into the other rocking chair gratefully.

"Long day, huh?" asked Flo, amusedly observing Hermione's lank form as she relaxed into the chair, child free.

Hermione sighed in response and Flo laughed.

Sitting up and finally looking at Flo, Hermione smiled. "Everything was fine until we got back on the bus. They were perfect during the interview at the hospital, never whining, or getting into trouble. The second we got on the bus, though, Cam had millions of questions and Maggie didn't stop squirming and crying the entire ride home," she said, watching Cam play with Andy and several other boys their age from their development.

Hermione looked back at Flo when she laughed.

"What?"

"Welcome to real parenting. I always knew you had it too easy with these angels of yours," she said with a smile. "When Jason was growing up, him and my three others never cooperated, especially when we had to be somewhere important," she said, smiling as she reminisced. "They fought and complained and got into trouble every where we went. You're lucky, you know."

Hermione looked at Maggie, who was now sleeping quietly in Flo's arms. "Yea, I guess I am," she said softly, smiling at her daughter.

An excited shout from the boys redirected their attention to the lawn, where the group of boys was cautiously walking towards a big black dog that had wandered into the yard.

After making sure the dog didn't look rabid or sick, Hermione smiled at them and called out, "Careful now, boys. Put out your hands first and make sure it's friendly."

The five and six year olds did what she said and yelped happily as the dog bounded over to them and started playing with them in the grass.

Hermione was startled when the dog suddenly left the boys and made his way over to the women, Andy and Cam following him up the steps onto the porch. He approached Flo and Maggie with its tail wagging rapidly, a doggish grin on his face. After being accepted by Flo and cautiously sniffing Maggie, the dog pranced over to Hermione and put his head in her lap.

She chuckled as she reached down to scratch behind the dog's ears and smiled as Andy and Cam attacked the dog once more. 

Still scratching behind his ears, Hermione greeted him. "Hello there, old boy. Where did you come from?"

He 'woof'-ed and wagged his tail excitedly, staring happily at Hermione.

Hermione smiled once more, then said playfully, "Is that so! Let's see…no collar. Who's your owner boy?" she asked as she knelt down in front of him.

The dog shook his head and 'woof'-ed again, prancing around Hermione's legs.

Hermione looked closely at the dog, scrutinizing him.

After several minutes of prancing and barks from the dog, Hermione's eyes widened in shock and she sat down quickly.

"Sirius?" she whispered.

The dog barked twice and seemed wag its tail twice as fast.

"Oh my god! Sirius is that really you?" she asked in astonishment.

The dog barked once more and then ran to her door, leaning his head against the frame.

Hermione glanced around quickly, immediately understanding. Looking at the questioning look on Flo's face, Hermione quickly got up from her chair.

"Flo, I will explain everything later, but I really have to go inside right now. Can you watch Cam and Maggie for a while?"

"Of course, dear. Are you sure everything's alright?" Flo asked, concerned.

"Yes…yes I think it is. It won't take long, I promise."

Turning to the two boys she said, "I need to take the dog inside for a minute, alright? I want you two to be good and play nicely for Nana Flo ok? Understood Cam?"

The boys nodded and ran off once more to play with their toys.

Glancing once more at Flo, Hermione walked over to her door and unlocked it. She opened her door, letting the dog walk in first and then followed him into the house.

Closing the door behind her, she turned around to stare at the dog that was standing in the middle of her small living room, looking around.

"Sirius, is that you?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

The dog barked once and looked at her for several seconds with his head cocked to one side.

Then, without any notice, the dog shifted into a tall, good-looking, black haired man.

"Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed, and rushed to hug the man now standing in her living room.

"Hello Hermione," Sirius said affectionately, hugging her back tightly.

As if suddenly realizing what she was doing, Hermione stiffened abruptly and pulled out of the friendly embrace, wrapping her arms around her body as if in protection.

Seeing the momentary hurt in her old friend's eyes, she masked the movement by quickly making her way down the short hall into the kitchen. 

"Would you like some coffee?" she threw the question over her shoulder.

Sirius followed her into the kitchen and shook his head. "No, but some tea would be great," he said, sitting down in one of the chairs around the table.

Hermione laughed, and then explained her laughter. "I forgot that coffee is an American thing and tea was for the British. Guess I've gotten kind of used to coffee," she said with a smile that was returned.

"So how are you Sirius?" she asked eagerly as she prepared the coffee and tea.

"I'm great actually," he answered.

"You look good. Very different from the first time I saw you," she said wryly, alluding to the scrawny, half-dead looking man he had been during her third year at Hogwarts.

"Yes, I've come quite a ways since then," he replied with a smile. "You look pretty good too," he said, looking her up and down.

She smiled almost shyly and answered, "Never would have guessed I gave birth six months ago, would you?"

"The baby is yours?" he asked, shocked.

Hermione nodded happily, beaming at the thought of her daughter. "Margaret Norwood, or Granger now anyway. And the dark haired boy is mine also. His name is Cameron."

"Wow! Two kids and you still look fantastic! Who's the lucky man?"

Sirius immediately regretted asking the question as Hermione's smile was erased and she looked around nervously. "You remember Damian Norwood?" she asked. "I met him at Oxford after graduation, but that doesn't really matter all that much now," she said stiffly, looking away from his curious face.

"Why not?" Sirius pressed.

"We were separated right after Maggie was born and were legally divorced about three months ago. He's never here, doesn't see them, so we don't talk about him and to us, he's no longer part of this family," Hermione answered, here eyes hard and her mouth in a thin line of thinly veiled anger and hurt.

"Oh…I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to bring it up," Sirius said quietly.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, Hermione quickly answered, "Don't worry about it Sirius. You couldn't have known, and its not like I can not talk about him forever, right?"

Before Sirius could answer, the teakettle started to whistle. A relieved Hermione quickly got up to fetch the tea and coffee and when she returned with two cups, Sirius could see she had recomposed herself.

"So what brings you to America?" she asked him after the first sips were taken.

"You, actually. I've been looking everywhere for you for the past four months. Not to mention the fact that Harry and Ron have tried to find you for over three years. What happened?"

Hermione's eyes darkened at his response and when she answered, her voice had turned hard again.

"_He happened, Sirius. While we were dating and when we were first married, my two closest friends were Harry and Ron. Damian was extremely jealous, but never said a word about it to me. After we moved here and had Cam, things would get tense between us every time I spoke of either one of them, or if I got an owl from them, anything. After a while, I stopped speaking about them around the house, and then gradually stopped owling them as well, since the topic started to create rifts between the two of us. I didn't even realize it was happening, for everything was so busy around here and everything. It wasn't until things started going really wrong between the two of us, and then when he finally left, did I realize that I had completely detached myself from them and everyone else at Hogwarts. And after that, I was too ashamed of what happened, and that I had stopped talking to them because of my husband, that I just continued to not talk to them," she finished softly, ashamed and not looking Sirius in the face._

"Hermione, they would have understood! I don't mean to make you feel bad, and this is in no way your fault, but they were devastated when you stopped owling them. No one had any clue where you were, or if you were alright. No one knew you even had _kids, for Merlin's sake!"_

"I know Sirius! And I would change it all back if I could! But what good is it now?"

"Well, for starters, you could write to Harry and Ron and explain to them _why_ they haven't heard from their best friend in over three years. And you might want to mention that you've got some munchkins of your own."

Hermione smiled slightly and said softly, "Harry is Cam's god-father, and Ron is Maggie's. Even though he hated it and even though I wasn't talking to them, I was adamant about that. There was no way Harry and Ron were not going to be godfathers for my children."

"For Merlin's sake, Hermione…you should bloody well tell them! They'll be ecstatic!"

Hermione's smile widened as she pictured their reactions.

"However, I'm not only here for a friendly visit," Sirius said, cutting into her thoughts.

As a frown of concern formed on Hermione's face, Sirius quickly reassured her, "No, no…nothing bad at all, you can relax. I'm actually here on Hogwarts business."

"Really?" Hermione asked, raising one of her eyebrows expectantly.

"Yes Ma'am! You are looking at the current-and-in-his-third-year-running Professor of Care of Magical Creatures and the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said proudly, puffing out his chest.

Hermione laughed and smiled broadly, "Sirius, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"I know," he agreed with a smile. "However, Albus has asked me here not to gloat or to catch up, but to offer you a job. As you know, Poppy Pomfrey is getting on in her years, and has been working at Hogwarts for forever," he said with a glint in his eyes. He continued, "She informed Albus during the Christmas holidays that she would be retiring at the end of this year, in approximately a month. Albus has had me searching far and wide for our dear Hermione Granger, prestigious and accomplished Medi-witch, to ask you if you would like to join the staff of Hogwarts. When he received your owl a few weeks ago, we were all delighted and I came as soon as I could get away."

A delighted look crossed Hermione's face as she laughed and clapped her hands together like a small child.

"That's excellent!" she exclaimed. "I was worried that something had happened with the letter when I didn't hear anything from Albus. It's perfect!" she continued.

Sirius let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Hermione. His smile lessened somewhat, however, when he saw a look of sadness fill Hermione's eyes and her smile disappeared.

"What's wrong Hermione? Is everything all right?"

Hermione looked at him and answered, "Yes, yes, everything's fine. It's just that…well…I've lived here now for six years and this area has become my home. The family next door to me is like my own family now, Florence is like a grandmother to Cam and Maggie, and I just can't picture leaving her, and Andy's parents are two of my best friends now. And yet, I desperately want to come back to Scotland and take the job, and to see everyone again, to introduce Cam and Maggie to the world I grew up in. It's just a bit of sadness, that's all," she answered, wringing her hands slightly.

"Speaking of which, how about we go outside and you introduce me properly to that lovely lady and your children?" Sirius asked, attempting to drag Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Oh, of course!" she said, quickly pushing the thoughts of her leaving to the back of her mind as she hurried to the front door.

Turning as she reached for the handle, she smiled at him and said, "It's great to see you Sirius, it really is."

Smiling back, Sirius patted her on the shoulder before gesturing to the door.

"Actually," she said, glancing over his attire, "you might not want to wear that outside. This is almost a completely Muggle neighborhood, only the family next door knows that I'm a witch. So if you don't mind…" she trailed off as she un-tucked her wand from her sleeve and waited expectantly for him to answer.

"Not at all. I don't really know how the Muggles dress around here. By the way, where is here exactly?"

"New Jersey," she said with a smile. "We're in a little town called Englishtown."

He nodded and she flicked her wand and murmured the incantation, and Sirius's robes were transformed into a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt.

"Much better," Hermione said, satisfied with her work. "Shall we then?"

She opened the door and went through, followed by Sirius.

Flo looked up quickly as she heard the door open and was surprised to see a man walk out with Hermione instead of the dog that had gone inside with her.

Noticing Flo's confused and wary look, Hermione laughed and motioned to Sirius.

"Sirius, I would like you to meet Florence, otherwise known as Nana Flo to the kids, and Flo to everyone else. Flo, this is my friend Sirius. You remember the story I told you about my best friend Harry and his godfather? This is him," she said, waving to Sirius.

A look of understanding and then one of awe crossed her face as she greeted him warmly, "Hello Sirius, pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Flo," he said charmingly, kissing her hand softly.

She laughed and looked at Hermione. "You're right. Quite a charmer, this one is."

Sirius and Hermione laughed and then Hermione leaned over to take Maggie from Flo.

"Sirius, I would like you to meet my daughter, Margaret Rose. Maggie, this is my good friend Sirius."

Sirius looked at Maggie with something like awe as she gurgled up at him, and whispered, "She's beautiful Hermione. I can't believe she's yours! I still remember when you were fourteen!"

Hermione laughed and handed Maggie to Sirius, who held her cautiously in his arms, as if she were about to break.

Smiling, Hermione turned around to face the lawn, calling out, "Andy, Cam, come here for a minute!"

The two boys came running up to Hermione, flushed and out of breath, completely oblivious to the man standing behind Hermione.

Catching both as they reached her, Hermione swung them around slightly before putting them back on the ground. She stood up and said, "Andy, why don't you go get your parents. Tell them that I'm back and I want them to meet someone, alright?"

The little boy nodded happily and sped into the house, the door slamming behind him with a bang.

Flo had taken Maggie back from Sirius, who was now looking down at Cam with a warm smile.

Picking her son up, Hermione turned to Sirius and introduced them. "Sirius this is my son, Cameron Jeffrey. Cam, meet a very good and very old friend of mine, Sirius Black."

"Hey, who you calling old young lady?" Sirius exclaimed in mock offense.

Cam grinned at the smiling man and shyly said hello to him, sticking out his little hand for Sirius to shake.

"Hello Cam. I'm a good friend of your Mum's. I've known her since she was a little girl," Sirius said, shaking Cam's hand and then ruffling his hair.

Cam glanced up at Hermione in awe, as if the thought of his mother being little like himself was mind-boggling.

The three adults laughed at his expression, and before anything else could be said, Andy ran back outside, soon followed by his parents.

The small redhead stopped next to Cam and stared up at Sirius. "Who're you?" he asked.

"Andy!" the petite red-haired woman, obviously his mother, scolded.

Hermione and Sirius laughed and Hermione quickly said, "It's alright Calli. This is my good friend Sirius. Sirius, meet Flo's son Jason, and his wife Callista. Andy's their son."

After the introductions had been made, the adults all settled comfortably on the porch, watching as the two boys tired themselves out playing on the lawn. The group had a small barbeque as it grew dark out, enjoying the pleasant company of Hermione's unexpected guest.

After the children were put to sleep, the adults congregated once more on the porch, watching the noise and activity of the street as the older children replaced the younger ones. 

The conversation was pleasant, mostly Sirius telling the other stories of Hermione's life at Hogwarts. The three Muggles were enthralled with the stories of moving pictures, magical creatures, enchanted ceilings, and all playfully admonished Hermione for leaving so many details out of her stories and explanations of home.

As it grew late, Hermione told her extended family of her plans to definitely go back to teach in Scotland.

It was a sad group that said goodnight that night, with promises to spend the next day together.

As Sirius and Hermione made their way back into Hermione's half of the house, Hermione was quite subdued.

"You alright?" Sirius asked gently.

Hermione nodded absently. "Just thinking, that's all."

"Alright. I should get going tomorrow morning, to let Albus know that you'll be coming. When should we expect you?"

Hermione looked up and thought for a second. "I need about two weeks here to get my things in order, and then I would like to visit my parents for a while. They haven't seen the kids since Maggie was born and it would be wonderful to visit with them for a while." Pausing again, she continued, "I guess you could tell Albus to expect me in about four weeks time, is that alright?"

"I'm sure that would be fine, seeing as how that would be right around the time the term ends. I'm going to be leaving early tomorrow morning, so I probably won't see you until you get back to Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded, and then quickly hugged Sirius. "It was great to see you, Sirius, really great," she said sincerely.

"It was a pleasure seeing you as well Hermione. We've all missed you, you know."

She nodded and replied, "Yes, I know. If you could…please don't tell Harry or Ron about Cam or Maggie or Damian just yet, alright? I'd rather them hear it straight from me. Of course you'll have to tell Albus so that he could prepare for having a five year old and a five month old in my rooms." Suddenly panicked, she asked him quickly, "I will be living at Hogwarts right? With my own quarters for the three of us?"

Surprised at her sudden outburst, Sirius quickly replied, "Of course you will. I think they're right in the Infirmary actually, in case there is ever an emergency. Of course Albus would give you rooms. No need to worry about that."

Hermione visibly calmed at his reassurances, and although he was curious, he refrained from asking why she had panicked.

She led him into the living room, and with a swish of her wand the couch was transfigured into a medium-sized bed for Sirius to sleep in.

"I guess you had better get to sleep then, if you're going to be getting up so early."

Sirius nodded and she continued. "Thank you for coming, Sirius. It was great to see you. And tell Harry and Ron that I can't wait to see them either, alright?"

"Of course, Hermione. They'll be delighted to hear it. Now then, I will see you in a month. Good night."

"Good night, Sirius." With that, Hermione quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it and disappeared from the room.

She quickly fled from the living room, swiftly making her way up the steps. She couldn't quite explain the uncomfortable feeling she got when she was alone with a man. Even Sirius, whom she had known since she was a third year at Hogwarts. Hugging him earlier and being in his presence by herself for too long definitely made her feel uneasy, and she knew exactly why. It disturbed her tremendously that she should be so uncomfortable with her friend…what would happen when she saw Ron and Harry again? There was no way she was going to be able to get away with a quick hug with the two of them. It was distressing knowing why she was feeling this way, but not being able to change her reaction.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Hermione quietly opened her son's bedroom door and made her way into the dark room. The light from the hallway shone across his face.

She kneeled down by the edge of the bed and gently stroked his dark brown hair. He had received her hair color and texture; dark brown, and slightly curly when grown too long. His hidden blue eyes came from his father, yet they were trusting and innocent, unlike Damian's. Cam was slightly small for a four year old, inheriting Hermione's small build, yet his temper was anything but. The combined tempers of Damian and herself had created a monster, when unleashed. Smiling at the thought, she leaned down and kissed Cam's forehead before making her way out of the room.

Going into her own bedroom, Hermione suddenly felt empty…alone. She walked over to where Maggie was sleeping peacefully in her crib next to Hermione's bed. She smiled as she looked down at her sleeping daughter. 

'Such a tiny baby' Hermione thought to herself, watching the way her daughter's small hands were curled into fists, resting by her mouth.

Hermione smoothed back the tufts of black hair that covered Maggie's head and leaned down to kiss her as well. Stepping away from the crib, Hermione made her way into the bathroom.

After showering and getting into her pajamas, she went back into the bathroom to complete her night-time rituals before getting into bed, all the while thinking of returning to her homeland.


	2. Chapter Two

The Road Home

Chapter Two

"Cam…Cam, wake up, we're almost there," cajoled Hermione, trying to wake the sleeping form on the opposite side of the horse-less carriage. "Cam, come on. Don't you want to see where we're going to be living?" she asked as the young boy stirred then finally sat up and looked out the window.

"Mommy? Is this going to be our new home?" a sleepy Cam asked in awe as the impressive sight of Hogwarts came into view.

Hermione smiled. "Yes, Honey. This is Hogwarts. Do you remember the picture that I showed you at Nana's and Poppa's? The ones of a castle and all the moving people? This is where those pictures were taken. I went to school here when I was a girl. I loved it here very much and I have a feeling you'll love it also," she answered, feeling a sense of home and belonging as the castle grew larger and larger.

The horseless carriage drew to a stop in front of the giant double doors signifying the entrance into the massive building. Hermione readjusted her hold on the sleeping Maggie and grabbed Cam's hand, before slowly walking up the steps to the doors.

As they reached the top step, the door opened majestically, revealing the beaming figures of Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall.

"Hermione, it is so good to see you!" exclaimed Albus, walking over to give her a warm hug, followed immediately by Minerva.

"Oh, and who is this wee lady and this wee lad?" she asked, looking at Maggie and then bending down so she was eye level with Cam.

Cam blushed under the attention of the three adults and tried to hide behind his mother's leg, extracting amused chuckles from Albus and Minerva.

Albus knelt down next to the young boy and introduced himself. "Hello there young man, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm the Headmaster of this school. Who might you be?"

"I'm Cam," he said, slowly inching his way out from behind Hermione's legs, sticking out his small hand in greeting which Albus shook with a smile. "Your beard is really long and you're really old," he said in wonder, causing the three adults to laugh as Albus stood up.

"And my name is Minerva McGonagall. Do you know that I taught your mother when she came here? I have a feeling that in a couple of years, I'll be teaching you as well," Minerva said warmly as she ruffled Cam's hair, after shaking his outstretched hand.

Cam looked in awe at the elderly woman before turning his gaze to his mother. "She taught you? She must be really old then too," he breathed in amazement.

Hermione quickly scolded the young boy while Minerva and Albus laughed once again.

"It's quite alright, Hermione. And yes, Cam, I guess I am really old," Minerva said to Cam, before winking at him and pointing to Albus. "But definitely not as old as him," she said conspiratorially while everyone laughed once more.

"Come, we will show you to your quarters and then I am sure everyone would love to see you and the wee ones," Minerva said, taking Hermione's free arm in her own and leading the party into the building.

As they made their way through the castle, Albus picked up Cam and kept up a running commentary of all the moving pictures and rooms they passed, to which Cam was watching and listening to with open-eyed wonder.

Hermione and Minerva, who had commandeered control of Maggie, were catching up on gossip and cooing over the baby. After the first mention of Damian, and Hermione's immediate stiffening and halting answer, Minerva steered clear of the topic and began filling Hermione in on her new job.

As they approached the infirmary, Hermione smiled as she remembered all the times she had spent there, both as a patient and as a visitor. Seeing her smile, Minerva commented warmly, "It is nice to have you back. Feels like home, doesn't it?"

Hermione nodded with a smile, "Yes, it certainly does."

"And it is good to have you back," joined in Albus before leading them into the infirmary and towards the entrance to her new quarters.

The entrance to her rooms were somewhat like that of Platform 9¾. What appeared to be a plain stone wall next to the left most window of the large room was actually the archway into her rooms. After persuading and promising Cam that what they were looking at wasn't a real wall and that he wouldn't get hurt trying to run through it, they entered her quarters.

"I have taken the liberty of extending Poppy's quarters to hold an additional room for Cam here. The room is located off of your room, in the very back of your quarters, so that you will always know when Cam decides to leave his room. I thought it might be convenient since he seems to like to explore," Albus said with a smile, gesturing to the young boy who was currently running through his new home, marveling at everything.

"Thank you, Albus. That's an excellent idea, and something I was slightly worried about myself. I was actually thinking of enchanting some type of alarm so that goes off if he leaves the rooms without me knowing about it," Hermione answered.

"Hmmm, very interesting concept. If you would like, I can set something up for you tomorrow after you are all settled?" Albus asked with a smile.

"That'd be great, thanks again Albus."

Albus and Minerva then gave Hermione and Cam a walking tour of their new home, which was comprised of six rooms, all rather large as was customary at Hogwarts. Her bedroom was equipped with the standard enormous four poster bed, as well as an ancient looking crib and playpen for Maggie. Connected to her room was an equally large bathroom with a jacuzzi-sized bathtub, and Cam's room. Her kitchenette was located next to her sitting/living area, which had a couch and several comfortable looking armchairs all facing towards a magnificent marble fireplace, as well as several empty bookshelves. The last room was a small study with a rather large oak desk and several more bookcases, these half-filled with books on Med-wizardry.

At her smile of approval of all the bookcases, Albus chuckled and stated, "I had several extra bookshelves brought in after your acceptance, knowing that you have a slightly larger collection than Poppy had."

Hermione nodded in thanks, yet her smile faded slightly as she murmured, "Don't be too sure of that," and turned away quickly.

Albus and Minerva exchanged a started and slightly worried glance behind her back before making their way back out into the infirmary.

"Well then, I'm sure Hermione needs to unpack so we'll leave you to that," said Minerva, handing the now awake and wriggling Maggie back to Hermione. "Don't forget that dinner is at six thirty, everyone is looking forward to seeing you tonight," she said, patting Hermione on the shoulder.

"Everyone, huh? You sure about that?" Hermione asked slyly, eyebrow raised, before smiling and turning back towards her quarters, Albus's and Minerva's laughter following her through the door.

*  *  *  * 

"She seems well," commented Albus to Minerva on their way to dinner later that evening.

"Yes, she does…but something doesn't seem right. I don't know exactly what it is, but it might have something to do with her ex-husband. When I mentioned him earlier, she seemed tense, and then the whole thing with the books…" Minerva trailed off as Albus nodded thoughtfully.

"Hmm…yes, there was something odd about that. But we will probably find out eventually, and it must not be too horrible, for she seems quite content," he reassured her.

"Yes, Cam and Maggie certainly make her happy. They will undoubtedly bring her much joy."

Albus chuckled and answered, "That as well as more than a few grey hairs, judging by young mister Cam's apparent similarity for his mother's curiosity and adventurous nature," he said with a smile.

A small laugh answered him.

"Minerva, I am sure that everything is fine. Hermione is quite a strong young witch and a fiercely stubborn young woman who has overcome much in the past. I am positive that everything will be fine. Besides, she is back under your watchful gaze and you know that no one in this castle would stand by complacently if something were to happen," he said, stopping her with his hand.

Minerva sighed and answered, "I know Albus, and I'm sure I am just overreacting like a mother hen. It's just that, something felt wrong." She shook her head after a couple of seconds and changed the subject. "Anyway, I wonder if she has seen Ron or Harry since she returned to England?"

"Not that I know of. I don't even think they know she is back since I don't think Sirius told them she had accepted the position. Which is why, my dear lady, I took the liberty of inviting the two to dinner tonight," Albus commented offhandedly, eyes twinkling madly.

Minerva laughed and playfully hit Albus's shoulder. "Albus, you interfering old codger! Although it will be nice to see those two, and I'm sure their reunion will be quite entertaining, from what I heard from Sirius," she replied with a smile, alluding to the fact that neither Harry nor Ron knew of Hermione's children. 

"Well, milady, we will see in just a few minutes. Shall we?" he offered his arm to his companion as they reached the doors of the Great Hall. Side by side they swept into the hall.

*  *  *  *

Hermione was late. It was twenty minutes after the start of dinner and she still couldn't find Cam, who had thought it would be amusing to start a game of hide and seek right before they needed to leave for dinner.

"Cam, come out, come out wherever you are!! Come on Cam, the game's over. Caaammm!!! Come on out…time for dinner…Cam!! Come on! Where are you?!" exasperated and getting slightly nervous that she couldn't find her son, she tried a new approach.

"Cam, if you come out, I'll show you some magic!" silence reigned for several seconds before she heard, with a certain amount of relief, the pattering of small feet careening towards where she stood.

"Really Mommy? You'll show me magic?" asked the eager boy, waiting wide-eyed for her answer.

"If we hurry to dinner then I'll show you some magic on the way, and you're more than likely to see magic at dinner, if we ever get there." She laughed as Cam's eyes nearly bugged out of his head in anticipation, now running towards their door.

"Let's go Mommy, hurry up!"

Picking up Maggie, they made their way into the infirmary, Cam practically dragging his mother towards the hallways.

"Ok mom!! Show me magic!" he begged, tugging insistently (and incessantly) on her hand as they started in the direction of the Great Hall.

Hermione laughed and asked him, "Do you want to fly, Cam?"

Cam looked at her in awe, asking, "You can make me fly Mommy?" Silence, and then "Yes, yes, yes!! Make me fly, make me fly!" he squeaked jumping up and down excitedly.

"Alright, alright, calm down, you," she said, laughing as she pulled her wand out of her sleeve. "Ready?" at his enthusiastic nod, she raised her wand and cast "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Cam squealed in glee as he was lifted off the ground and twirled upside down by his mother.

"More, Mommy!! More!" he cried happily.

A very amused Hermione now rushed to the Great Hall, twirling and tumbling her son in front of her as she went.

*  *  *  *

_Twenty Minutes Before_

"They're late," commented Minerva to Albus.

He nodded and replied, "I'm sure they'll be here shortly. She does have two little ones to take care of, remember?"

"She's here then?" asked Sirius, sitting on one side of Albus.

"Who are you talking about, Albus?" asked Harry Potter while Minerva nodded at Albus's statement.

Albus smiled at the young man seated across from him, and then at the young man to his left, Ronald Weasley, who was listening with half an ear. "A friend, Harry. The new Medi-witch, actually."

Hearing this, Ron went back to focusing on his food, much to the amusement of the other three Gryffindors.

"What do you mean they, then?" Harry asked, continuing the conversation.

"Well, the new Medi-witch has children that are too young to be enrolled here at Hogwarts. They will be staying in the castle with their mother, going to a daycare located in Hogsmeade during the day," Albus answered.

Harry looked somewhat surprised, before asking, "Has any of the staff ever had their children staying here before, Albus? I've never seen any kids around."

"It is a very rare occurrence to have a staff member's family also living in the castle. Most have houses in Hogsmeade for easy access and to be close to one another, but our new Medi-witch has no one she can leave her children with, hence they will be staying here with her."

The three looked up from their conversation as the doors to the Great Hall were opened with a bang and the Potions Master strode into the room, leaving the door ajar.

Glancing sourly, yet not nearly as bad as in their youth, at two-thirds of what he privately called the Dream Team, Severus Snape took the empty seat on the other side of Minerva, nodding gruffly at everyone in greeting.

"Ah, good evening Severus. How are you today?" Albus asked happily, ignoring the look Severus directed at Sirius, Ron and Harry, and smiling widely at the younger man.

Glancing at the two empty seats to the left of Harry and Ron, he answered sarcastically, "Peachy. What are Potter and Weasley doing here?" he asked, somewhat curious in spite of himself. The two were occasionally visitors at the castle, but rarely came so close to the end of the school term. He also could not figure out who the empty seats might belong to since all the professors seemed to be present.

The Headmaster answered with a smile, "I invited them here to stay for a short visit," he said with an inconspicuous glance at Minerva and Sirius, who was also smiling slightly.

The Headmaster employed the others in carefree conversation as they ate, until their meal was interrupted by a very odd noise.

From the open doors of the Great Hall, a gleeful screech and some very high pitched squeaks and squeals could be heard getting louder and louder.

Albus and Minerva both burst out laughing as they figured out who was probably making the noise, and why, soon followed by Sirius. Harry and Ron, along with the rest of the Professors, only looked towards the Headmaster in confusion.

As the noise grew louder and louder, Severus finally growled, "What is that incessant racket?!"

Before Minerva or Albus could answer, they were interrupted by a loud and slightly familiar "Cam! Quiet!"

Before anyone could say anything else, an excited looking young boy came floating through the doors, upside down and squealing only slightly less loud than before.

Most of those present, minus Severus and a few others, cracked up laughing at the look of bliss on the now right side up boy, who had stopped squealing at the sight of so many people watching him.

"Who is that, Albus?" Harry asked curiously.

As Albus was about to answer, Hermione rushed into the room, wand raised in order to float her son back to the ground from his levitated position. Even though they were standing at the complete end of the enormous hall, everyone could vaguely hear, "Mommy, that was really cool! Wait till I tell Andy! When can I do that again?"

Everyone laughed and Hermione started leading her son up to the Head Table, recognizing her old teachers and easily picking out the newer, younger ones. As she was about halfway through the hall, Albus stood up to introduce the three new arrivals.

"As you all can see, we have three new additions to our home for this upcoming year. I am extremely pleased that they were able to join us this year and we are very lucky to have such an esteemed witch working with us. I would like to introduce Maggie and Cam, the infant and young boy who was floated into the room, and our new Medi-witch, Hermione Granger. I'm sure you'll all welcome her back with open arms and help her in any way necessary," he finished, glancing at Severus at the last comment.

The applause that filled the hall was interrupted by a hesitant "Hermione?" followed by the crash of Harry's chair as he jumped out of his seat to greet his long time friend. He was followed closely by Ron.

Hermione beamed as she saw the two figures coming towards her and welcomed them, "Hey Harry, hey Ron."

Thrilled as she was to see them, however, she visibly tensed (visible to Albus, Minerva, Sirius, Severus and Harry) when the two men ran to her and collected her in a giant bear hug, taking care not to squish Maggie in the process.

Forcing herself to relax and calm her racing heart, she hugged her two friends before pulling away quickly, masking the gesture by looking them over.

"How are you two?" she asked, tears in her eyes and voice at the unconditional love she saw in her two friends.

"We're great, 'Mya, how are you? We haven't heard from you in _ages_!" exclaimed Ron, pulling her into his arms for another hug.

Hermione was relieved when she only flinched slightly, and then cursed herself for her reactions to being so close to a man, even her best friends.

As the three began to talk, and Harry and Ron were introduced to their God-children, much to their surprise and delight, Severus, Sirius, Albus and Minerva talked quietly, observing the five still in the middle of the hall.

"Where has she been all these years, Albus?" Severus asked quietly.

"Somewhere in New Jersey, she said," answered Sirius.

"Did she react the same way to you when you first saw her Sirius?" asked Minerva worriedly.

Sirius nodded gravely and replied, "Yes, it was actually more noticeable. When she first realized it was me, she actually hugged me, then abruptly stiffened and moved away. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if warding herself from something…or someone," he finished after a pause.

Minerva sighed deeply and looked at Albus. "It might be worse than you thought, Albus. We all know how well Hermione can hide things, that much is known from her year with the Time-Turner. No one knew anything was out of the ordinary until she decided to tell someone about it. Something could have happened to her back in America and we might never find out," she said worriedly.

Albus also sighed and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, worse than you thought? What else happened?" asked Severus curiously.

"Earlier this afternoon, when they first arrived, she and I were talking and I asked about Damian, you remember him, don't you?" at Severus's nod, Minerva continued. "Well, as soon as I mentioned him, she tensed up and practically stopped talking, so I immediately changed the subject. And then, after showing her the rooms, Albus mentioned that he had added some new bookshelves because Hermione would have more books than Poppy had. I don't think she meant for us to hear her, but she said something like 'don't be too sure'. I don't know if that means she doesn't have any books, or something happened to them, but she seemed rather depressed and refused to talk about anything related to her ex-husband. You don't suppose things ended that badly between the two of them, do you?" she asked, finally stopping to take a sip of pumpkin juice.

The three men were silent before Severus spoke, "Do you think something happened to her that would cause her to fear contact with men? Either before or after her divorce from Damian?" he asked gravely.

Before any of them had a chance to answer, the woman in question finally made her way up to the Head Table, greeting her older professors until she sat down in the empty seats next to Ron and Harry.

"Albus, Minerva," she greeted with a smile. "Hello Sirius, nice to see you again so soon. And you, too, Professor Snape," she greeted after a pause, as if not knowing how to address the man who had antagonized her fore seven long years.

"Oh please, call him Severus, Hermione," insisted Albus with a smile, which only widened as Severus's scowl deepened in irritation. 

Further conversation was interrupted by a large gasp from Cam, as his food magically appeared in front of his eyes. "Mommy, where did it come from?" he asked in awe.

Everyone who heard the question laughed, and Harry answered the question, "If it's alright with you Mom, maybe I can show you tomorrow. Have you ever seen an elf before Cam?"

"An elf?" he asked wide-eyed. "You mean like Leglogas?"

At everyone's confused look, Hermione explained, "It's Legolas, from a Muggle movie called Lord of the Rings.  And no, Cam, this kind of elf isn't like Legolas at all. It's called a House-elf and looks very, very different."

"Is that where you've been living then, Hermione? In the Muggle world?" asked Ron as he returned to eating his dinner.

Hermione nodded. "There are very few wizarding settlements in the U.S., so after Cam was born, we decided to move to a small town in New Jersey. It was close to both Damian's work and my own," she answered, then quickly went on before anyone could ask questions. "After Maggie was born, we had already been living there for several years, so we just stayed. I do miss it, actually. Especially the family next door to us, who befriended us. They became like a second family to myself and Cam after Damian left, and helped take care of Maggie when she was first born."

"Yea, I miss Andy and Nana Flo, Mommy," Cam said sadly, pausing from his dinner, which he was inhaling at a speed that could quite possibly give Ron a run for his money. "Can they come and visit?" the little boy visibly perked at this thought.

Hermione looked up at Albus, "I don't know Cam, I guess we'll have to see about that." 

Satisfied, Cam went back to eating, and didn't hear Hermione ask Albus "Is there any way that it could be arranged, Albus? Would they be able to visit, even if they are Muggles?"

"Miss Granger, one who has read _Hogwarts: A History_ as many times as yourself must already know that Muggles are only allowed near Hogwarts for the graduation of their children," Severus interjected with disdain before Albus could answer the question.

"Severus," warned Albus while Minerva sent him a threatening glare.

Severus replied with a glare of his own before saying, "I was only stating a fact, Headmaster. If Miss Granger had used her head, she would already know that having Muggles visit is impossible. I believe spending so much time in the company of _Muggles_ might have lowered her IQ" he continued off-handedly.

"What?" breathed Hermione in fury, clenching her fork and knife tightly.

"Severus, that is enough. Hermione is now an employee and not someone you can ridicule without them being able to answer back at you. She is also a new guest in this castle, and will be treated accordingly. Any past grudges or dislikes will be put aside and forgotten and I will not have you treating her poorly while she is here," stated Minerva strictly, face flushed with anger and arms crossed, daring Severus to say anything further.

The two glared at each other for several seconds before Severus nodded tersely and turned away, ignoring the others for the rest of the meal.

After dinner was over, the majority of those in the hall stayed behind, catching up with Hermione and getting acquainted with the new children in the school. Some time later, Hermione bid everyone goodnight as Cam's eyes started to droop. She collected the already sleeping Maggie from Morgana Hooch's arms while Harry picked up his godson from where he was slowly drifting into oblivion. Saying goodnight to those still left in the hall, Ron took his goddaughter from Hermione and the three slowly made their way towards the infirmary.

"I can't believe you're back Hermione, we really missed you," Harry said softly, looking at Hermione over Cam's head.

"Yea, we did, 'Mya," agreed Ron, voice equally soft.

Looking at her two friends, who the entire night had not asked her why she had stopped owling, Hermione felt herself tear up at the love she felt for the two.

"I missed you two, you guys. I am so sorry…" she started, only to be silenced by Harry's hand on her shoulder as they stopped right outside the Great Hall.

"Hermione, we know that only something serious would make you distance yourself from the people and places you love. When you're ready to explain everything to us…why you left, what happened, why you came back…everything, we'll be waiting. But you really have nothing to apologize for. We're just glad you're alright and that you're back here with us," he said gravely.

Hermione stifled back a sob as she saw the emotions in his eyes, as well as Ron's. Tearfully whispering, "Thanks guys," she leaned in and embraced both of them, kissing them each on the cheek before pulling back. The three continued to talk quietly as they walked the rest of the way to the infirmary.

Standing in the entrance to the Great Hall, Albus, Minerva and Severus stood watching the retreating backs of the Golden Trio, as they had been dubbed so many years before by members of the wizarding world.

Minerva sighed and smiled at Albus. "Harry is quite a smart young man, and provided Hermione with exactly what she needed to hear." 

"Yes, Ron as well. He certainly has matured into a level-headed man. If I recall correctly, there was a time where he would have given her the silent treatment and not listened to a thing she had to say, being a godfather to her child or not."

"Yes, I remember. I am just glad she's back and alright, or on the road to being alright," Minerva murmured.

"Hmph. I have a feeling this summer is going to be anything but quiet. The Dream Team back together, and with the second generation alive and squealing already. Is the year over yet?" asked Severus sarcastically, already dreading the year to come.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N-Usual disclaimer applies. Anything that you recognize from Harry Potter belongs to Rowling…anything that doesn't is mine. Enjoy!! The Road Home Chapter Three 

The next few days passed by in a blur of activity. There was an overload of unpacking, refurnishing, settling Maggie and Cam, restocking the empty shelves in the Infirmary, going over student files, re-exploring the immense castle with Cam, catching up with anyone and everyone in the castle, and hundreds of other little things that needed to be done. In the days that followed their arrival, the three adapted quite nicely to their new lifestyle and home, despite their hectic schedule. 

Harry and Ron had decided to stay at Hogwarts on an extended visit, rooming in their old dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower, much to the chagrin of Severus Snape. They spent their time catching up with Hermione and acquainting themselves with their godchildren. Ron and Harry spent a lot of time filling Hermione in on everything that had happened in Britain and Scotland since her departure, including marriages, deaths, who was together, who had broken up, what their old school friends were up to, everything that she had missed in the years since they had spoken. The topic of her ex-husband was practically taboo and never spoken of, including her reasons for cutting off all contact while in America. Harry and Ron stayed true to their word, and gave Hermione time to come to them with her story.

The three had taken up wandering the castle at night after the two children were put to bed, reminiscing about the past and their old adventures. Harry even brought out the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map on a few of these trips, and the three traipsed happily through the hallways, albeit rather uncomfortably, since they were slightly taller than they were as eleven year olds. They quickly picked up their old habits of play fighting constantly, bickering, teasing, and playfully hexing one another, and causing trouble wherever they went. All was done after Cam and Maggie were asleep, of course, so as not to give the young ones any ideas.

The older Professors, the ones that had taught the three, were delighted to see them together again, with the little ones in tow (most of them, anyway). Harry and Ron loved spending their time recounting their adventures for Cam, who was still enthralled at the idea of magic, and overly amazed that his mother had been a child in the school, breaking rules and everything. They had even bought him a children's broom and were teaching him how to fly while Hermione was working in the Infirmary.

To give Hermione time to go over student files, restock the stores, and rearrange the Infirmary to her liking, Cam and Maggie were watched by the others in Hogwarts. Maggie was cooed at and fought over by every other female staff member, as well as a number of the male ones. Cam spent his time in the shadows of Albus, Harry, Ron and Sirius, constantly asking questions of them. Surprisingly, Cam was quite intrigued by the dark figure that was Severus Snape, and when Severus did venture out of his dungeons, Cam attached himself to Severus's side. He was fascinated by the concept of mixing different things together and actually making something (this coming from his love for making mud pies with Andy) and bugged Hermione nonstop to get her to bring him to the dungeons. 

Hermione was rather shocked that Severus was so receptive to Cam, especially after his comments about her children when she first arrived. He rarely snapped at Cam, but was uncharacteristically patient with the boy. He seemed to enjoy the fact that Cam _wanted_ to talk to him about Potions, and, while he would never admit it to anyone, was rather pleased that Cam sought out his presence over the others. Still, that didn't mean that he was actually _nice_ to Cam, for he did have a reputation. He still supplied the endless witty and sarcastic remarks, but he cut back on the rather harsh ones and the snarkiness when he was with the boy. It might have had something to do with the fact that all his comments went right over the boy's head and failed to serve their purpose, but that's alright. And Hermione would almost swear that she had seen him smiling once or twice at her son, but she was not exactly sure and dismissed the idea as her imagination.

Cam was enchanted by the castle and its occupants, loving the attention he was receiving in this new world. As the weeks went by, nicknames were adopted for the other professors and inhabitants. Harry and Ron quickly became 'Uncle Harry' and 'Uncle Ron', Albus was 'Poppa Albus', and Minerva 'Nona Kitty'. She was given this name after a rather exciting transformation in front of the amazed toddler. Sirius suffered the same fate after transfiguring into his Animagus form, and after Cam overheard Harry and Ron joking about Snuffles, promptly named him 'Uncle Snuffy'. To the amusement of all, Cam even came up with a nickname for Severus, 'Uncle Sevvie', which he despised with a passion. This, of course, pushed the other members of the staff to call him 'Sevvie' when he was being particularly prickly, which was quite often as you can imagine (although not as often as when the Trio were still students). Filius Flitwick was called 'Uncle Flit' and Angela Vector was 'Auntie Angie'. The other professors (minus Severus) were thrilled with the pet names from Cam, and spoiled him and Maggie every chance they had.

Before anyone knew it, there was only three weeks left until the new term. The castle inhabitants were in a frenzy, trying to get lesson plans finished and the castle ready for the students' return. Harry and Ron, having been absent from their own jobs long enough, said a final goodbye to Hermione and the children and left the night before the rest of the staff members were to arrive. 

Several staff members, those with a family, opted to live at home until it is time for the children to arrive back at school. Albus, Minerva, Sirius, Severus, Angela Vector, Morgana Hooch, Filius Flitwick and Emily Hudson (one of the newer teachers) all chose to stay.

The day Hermione was to meet the rest of the staff dawned bright and early, very early. While Maggie and Cam, having been so exhausted from romping around the castle throughout the summer, had usually slept through the night and rather late in the morning, Cam was a bundle of energy since Harry and Ron had left. So it was at six-thirty on this beautiful day that Hermione was awoken by a small boy jumping on her bed excitedly.

"Mom-my Mom-my!!! Wake-up! Mom-my!" he was squealing in time to his bounces. Because he was shouting so loudly, Maggie's cries soon joined in, bringing Hermione from her deep sleep rather quickly.

"Alright, alright, Mommy's up. Cam, please stop jumping!" she cried as she struggled to her feet, lurching towards the basinet to gather her screaming daughter. After several minutes of rocking and soothing, Maggie was once again the angel she usually was. Cam, having finally gotten his mother out of bed was happily playing with his new toys in his room.

Harry, Ron and Albus had taken a trip to Diagon Ally, into a children's store that neither the men nor Hermione knew was there. Albus had helped the two younger men buy toys and supplies Hermione might need for her two children. They then adamantly refused to let her pay them back, claiming that they were making up for lost birthdays and holidays. The children's clothes were quite adorable, tiny versions of adult robes in bright colors and with different designs.

After dressing quickly in some loose light blue robes, she dressed Maggie in cute pink baby clothes and lay her down in her playpen. Entering Cam's room, she smiled as she saw the young boy playing with two of the stuffed flying dragons that Ron had picked out. While the dragons were stuffed, they were still magical toys and flew around the room whenever and wherever their owner told them to go. Hermione thanked Merlin that they didn't breathe fire.

At the moment, a laughing and excited Cam was chasing after them as they flew around his room, about two feet above the ground. His light green robes with miniature racing brooms flying around them were flapping behind him as he ran. Hermione stood for several seconds, just watching her son and thanking whoever was listening that Cam had adjusted so well to their life at Hogwarts. She was thrilled that he seemed to fit right into the world of magic, something she had hated keeping from him in New Jersey.

Breaking out of her thoughts as she heard the breakfast bell chime, she called to her son, "Cam, time for breakfast. Let's go see if we can beat the rest of the teachers to the Hall!" As predicted, Cam quickly scurried to slip on his Velcro shoes and practically tripped trying to run out of the room. Hermione had found that instead of asking nicely or trying to threaten Cam into doing something, for it rarely worked, if she simply made a request into a game or a race, he followed more than willingly.

Following her son out into her bedroom, she scooped up Maggie and released the wards on their quarters so they could pass into the Infirmary. Albus and she had spent a good amount of time discussing how to keep Cam from running out of their quarters without her knowing, and had come up with a security system of some sorts. Every time Hermione entered the rooms with the children, she set the wards so that they wouldn't be able to leave without her unwarding the rooms. She herself could leave, and anyone who wanted to could enter and exit while the wards were up. However, even if an adult were carrying one of her children, they would not be able to leave until she herself, or Albus, took down the wards. 

Albus had asked her why she wanted the wards set that way, so that even with an adult the children could not leave the quarters, but Hermione only shook her head and shrugged. "I just think it might be useful, something I might want to have in the future, just in case." She hadn't explained further, and Albus had let the matter drop, albeit unwillingly.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts away, Hermione hurried after Cam as he ran towards the Great Hall. He tied, to no avail, to pull open the immense doors, much to Hermione's amusement. She shifted Maggie to her left side and opened the doors for her son, who ran into the room.

"Oh, Mom! We're not the first ones here!" he whined, until he realized that the other people were Albus, Minerva, Sirius, and Severus. Hermione laughed as the little boy ran across the Great Hall and practically threw himself onto Albus's lap.

"Oof, why hello there, Cam," Albus welcomed with a smile, shifting the boy into a more comfortable position on his lap.

"Hi Poppa Albus!" Cam greeted back cheerfully as he waved hello to the others at the table. He then waved his hand at Albus, motioning that Albus should lean down so that Cam could whisper in his ear. The others paid little attention to this as it was a daily ritual between the young boy and older man. Hermione sat down next to Minerva in time to hear Albus chuckle heartily at whatever it was that Cam had said.

Everyone greeted Hermione, and she reciprocated, before Maggie was swept out of her arms by the woman sitting next to her.

"And how is Maggie this morning?" she asked, smiling down at the infant in her arms. 

"Woke up screaming, thanks to that one over there," Hermione said nodding toward Cam as she reached for the coffee. "Decided to wake me up this morning by jumping on my bed." This statement was greeted with laughter all around, especially when Sirius and Severus both shuddered at the thought.

"Does that happen often?" Sirius asked, curious.

Hermione shook her head, reaching for a bagel. "No, usually only on special occasions, like birthdays or the holidays. He was just really excited today."

Everyone glanced at Severus as he cleared his throat awkwardly and looked guiltily (well as guiltily as Severus Snape could ever look) at Hermione.

She raised her eyebrow and waited for him to explain, as Albus, Minerva and Sirius chuckled in amusement.

"I told him that today, if it was alright with you, I would take him to the classroom and let him watch me brew some potions that I need for the start of the term," he said, inwardly flinching as he waiting for the explosion.

"Oh, that explains it. Alright," she answered, and went back to buttering her bagel.

She looked up as she heard Albus, Sirius and Minerva laughing, apparently at Severus, who was looking at her in surprise.

"Alright? That's it? You're not going to yell that I would be endangering your son, or that thanks to me, you had to be woken up the way you were?" he asked, amazed.

Hermione laughed along with the rest before answering the man who was now scowling at everyone. "First of all, Severus, I know you would never endanger my son's life. You do teach children and have kept them relatively safe from harm everyday of the year. And second, I had told Cam myself that I would let him watch you one day. I had expected you to cave into his badgering sooner, to tell you the truth," she said with a smirk.

Severus's scowl deepened at this, much to the amusement of the others, before he glanced at the boy in question. Cam was happily munching on his french toast while still sitting on Albus's lap, completely oblivious that he was the topic of conversation.

"Yes, well. The little bugger can be a bit persuasive," he finally growled.

"Hey! That's my little bugger you're talking about mister!" Hermione teased. She had discovered that the man no longer intimidated her. Irritated her, definitely, but no longer scared to death everytime he looked at her. It might have had something to do with the joke Cam played on him (with Harry and Ron's help, of course) that turned his hair and eyebrows bright blue for two days.

Severus's reply was cut of as other people began joining them at the table. 

"Ooh, Auntie Morgy!! Can you still teach me how to fly when other people get here?" Cam shouted down the table to Morgana Hooch, who chuckled and walked to their section of the table. 

"If it's alright with your Mum, I will. But only when there are no other students around, understood?" she replied with a smile. She nodded to everyone in greeting as she reached over Minerva's shoulder to smooth down Maggie's hair in a tender gesture.

Cam nodded eagerly, thrilled that his flying lessons would continue.

"But," Morgana said, piercing him with a gaze as the child fell still, "I do not want to hear from you Mum that you've been flying around your quarters, got it young man?"

Cam, who had expected the worst possible thing, nodded happily and went back to eating and playing with Albus's beard.

"Morgana, thank you so much for keeping up the lessons. You know how dreadful I am on a broom, and I definitely did _not want to have try to teach my son how to fly," Hermione said, shuddering at the thought as everyone laughed._

"Oh, please, like you have been on a broom on years," Minerva said with a smile, eliciting an embarrassed nod from Hermione.

"You can't fly?" Severus asked surprised, and Hermione turned to see both Severus and Sirius looking at her in shock, amazed that Hermione Granger openly admitted not being able to do something.

She laughed at the looks on their faces before replying with a smile. "Oh, I can fly, just not very well. And I hate it, the feeling of not being in control, of being able to fall at any second," she shuddered. "I just refuse to get on a broom unless it's utterly dire that I use one. Haven't had to use one in a while, thank Merlin," she said.

"And how did you expect Cam to learn?" Sirius asked.

"Well, in America, we weren't even living in a Magical community, so I expected him to learn when he went to a Wizarding school," she said. She paused and seemed to be contemplating something, opened her mouth and then thought the better of it and snapped it shut.

"What about your husband?" Severus asked calmly, correctly assuming that what she had been about to say had been concerning Damian.

"Ex-husband," she said, her demeanor changing almost instantly. She tensed and looked at him coldly, all signs of teasing removed. "I expect that if he were still around, he would have taught Cam sooner or later, but that's not a possibility is it?" she asked sharply, sounding bitter.

There was silence at their end of the table for several seconds before Minerva reached out to put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. Upon contact, Hermione shrugged her friend's hand away and stood up. 

"If you'll all excuse me, I have to Owl someone. Minerva, would you and Albus watch them, please?" she asked. When they nodded in agreement, she nodded at those at the table and walked out of the Hall.

 Albus sighed, soon followed by Minerva.

"Really, Severus, was that necessary? She was doing so well!" Sirius exclaimed, turning to face the man next to him who was watching the door with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Severus looked at Sirius, then at Albus and Minerva, who was glaring at him over Maggie's head. He too sighed, before answering. "She has to face it sooner or later," he said shortly.

"I would rather it have been later, then," Minerva murmured.

Severus sighed in exasperation. "You can't coddle her forever! She's a grown woman with children of her own, for Merlin's sake! If she doesn't face this now, it's going to overshadow everything else in her life," he snapped, eyes haunted for a second before clearing. Seeing that everyone was thinking about what he had just said, and the woman in question, he stood up and called to Cam.

"Cam, would you like to see me brew a potion now?" he asked, as kind as he could possibly make the question sound.

Cam nodded eagerly, and sprang to his feet, launching himself off of Albus's lap. 

Severus turned to the others at the table and nodded in farewell. He turned to leave, motioning Cam to follow. He was quite shocked when Cam reached for his hand as they reached the doors. Looking down at the smiling face, he allowed the boy to take his hand and didn't pull away, but led them out of the Hall.

Minerva and Albus had been watching the two on their way out, and Severus's reaction had not gone unnoticed. Minerva raised her eyebrow at Albus, who just chuckled and twinkled back at her, before reaching across the table to take Maggie. The rest of breakfast was spent cooing and babbling to the infant in his arms, while the other professors looked on and laughed.

~*~*~*~*~

Hermione left the Great Hall almost in a blind rage. The fact that she couldn't figure out who she was actually mad at did nothing but fuel her anger.

How dare he! How dare that overgrown bat bring _him_ up! Why couldn't he have just left him out of the conversation!?!? WHY!? Does he get some sick pleasure in watching me squirm, knowing I hate talking about it?! Knowing I _can't _talk about it?!? Aarghhh!!!! she thought furiously as she blindly stalked the corridors, forgetting completely that she had wanted to Owl Flo and the others in New Jersey. 

Every time we have a pleasant conversation, he brings up _something_ that has to do with him. What's the matter with him?!? What's the matter with me? Why am I so upset that he keeps bringing it up? she asked herself in a sudden change of thought.

He obviously knows it bothers me, but everyone knows that the topic bothers me. But no one knows why. Of course they're curious as to why I won't talk about him, why I never mention him to anyone, including the kids. But can't they see that I can't talk about it yet, that its still too fresh?!? Ugh! That insufferable bat! she growled in her head.

She continued muttering to herself as she blindly paced through the halls of Hogwarts. So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't even look up as she turned a corner, until she found herself on the floor looking up at a woman trying to keep her balance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" they both said simultaneously, then grinned at each other. The other woman, finally balanced, reached down to help Hermione up. Hermione stood up and dusted herself off, and when they were both fully stable, she turned to get a good look at the woman, her previous anger completely forgotten.

She looked to be about Hermione's age, if not a few years younger. She was tall, yet well rounded, and had a pixie-type look about her. Her face was round and cute-looking, with dirty blond hair falling in strands that fluttered with each turn of her head. Her eyes were a clear, crystal blue that sparkled with mirth and she had a rather cute turned-up nose that completed the look of a pixie. 

Realizing that she was staring, Hermione blushed and chuckled, before sticking out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger, the Medi-witch."

"Hi!" the woman greeted cheerfully, grabbing Hermione's extended hand and shaking it eagerly. "I'm Lisa Turpin, the Muggles Studies Professor."

"Oh! Are you Muggle-born?" Hermione asked curiously.

Lisa nodded happily. "Yup! Albus thought it was a good to have someone who actually knows something about Muggles teaching the class," she said with a wink.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, well. The old professor certainly was…interesting. At least, he was when I was here."

"Yes, it's the same one. I remember being a first-year when you and the others were in your fifth year. Kind of hard not to remember the name Hermione Granger when it was constantly linked to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," she said smiling. "Professor Hurkblat finally decided to call it quits, thank Merlin. Even I had trouble in that class trying to remember what he said about Muggles, and I'm Muggle-born! It made it worse that I had to memorize things that were completely wrong just so I could pass his stupid tests!" she said with a laugh.

"Oh, I know what you mean!" Hermione agreed. "Did you have to do that section on Muggle High Schools, and you had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but you just knew that he didn't know either?!" she asked, excited that she had someone else with the same viewpoint of the class. She had always thought it would be interesting to take Muggles Studies from the Wizarding point of view, but dropped the class after only one year of taking it, for it proved to be an utter waste of her time.

"I know!! I couldn't stop laughing while I tried doing those stupid homework assignments. I mean come on! Is it really too hard to figure out that their freshman year in High School is equivalent to our fourth year here? I couldn't believe it when he told us the homework was from a Muggle's freshman year, and it was like the equivalent of a first-year's assignment!!" she said, arms waving.

The two started walking again and their discussion continued, rambling about their old Professor.

"I know!! Harry and Ron were absolutely shocked when I told them I hadn't signed up for it for another year. They didn't understand that he was teaching everything completely wrong, and it took all my self-control not to strangle him everytime I was in that classroom!!"

"Tell me about it! The only reason I stayed with it was because I wanted to come back here and teach it correctly. But it was practically torture!!! I mean, my sixth and seventh year, I practically taught the class, because I would correct him so much that he just let me explain things. That was when I decided I _had to replace him after the university," she said._

"It's about time someone did! How long have you been working here anyway?" Hermione asked as they made their way down into the Main Entrance.

"Um, let me think…I'm twenty-four, so three years. This is obviously your first year, right?" she asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I moved to America for a number of years, and worked as a Medi-witch in a school like Hogwarts in New York. When I had my children, I stopped, but I've kept up with it, and here I am," she said.

"Oh, you have children? How many?"

"Two; a son, Cam, and a daughter, Maggie. You'll probably meet them at lunch today. Oh, speaking of which, did you want breakfast? I was coming from there when we ran into each other, but I think there is still some food left," she said as she motioned towards the Great Hall. 

Lisa shook her head, "On, no that's alright. I actually just had some cereal in my rooms. After spending the summer in the Muggle world, it's hard to get used to House-elves again, you know?"

Hermione laughed, "I know what you mean! We've only been here for a couple of weeks, but already Cam only wants House-elf cooking. But I'm so used to cooking without magic, since that's what I've done for the past seven years, that it's just weird again."

"You went _seven years without magic?!?" Lisa asked, mouth open in shock._

Hermione laughed. "No, no. I just didn't cook with magic, and Cam was never shown any since we lived in a Muggle neighborhood. And once you meet him, you'll realize the little tyke can't keep a secret if his life depended on it," she said with a smile "Do you want to go outside and take a walk then? It looks beautiful out." She said, gesturing towards the doors.

"Sure!" Lisa smiled and nodded. "I was actually on my way to talk to Albus and to let him know that I'm back. But, knowing him, he probably already knows, doesn't he?"

"Probably," Hermione agreed. "He certainly seemed to know when I arrived, met us right as we went to open the doors."

"Sounds like Albus."

The two made their way outside and began strolling the grounds. They talked about the school and the way it had changed, along with the different teachers. Much of the morning was spent describing their childhood's in different Muggle neighborhoods, Hermione raising her children in New York, and Lisa lovingly describing the Muggle she was currently engaged to. Hermione was surprised at how alike the two were. Lisa, also, was an only child, and, from what she had told Hermione, her parents had reacted to her magical abilities in the same way Hermione's had; wary, nervous and doubtful at first, but never anything but supportive and loving. 

It was nice to be able to talk to someone about the Muggle world without having to first explain what it was she wanted to talk about. As Lisa still spent a good amount of time with her parents and fiancée, she was given the chance to keep up with the times in the Muggle world and the two talked about favorite books, artists, movies, and music. She was extremely glad that the subject of her past in America was never brought up, with the exception of descriptions of Cam and Maggie, and living in the small Muggle town of Englishtown. The two talked until they heard the lunch bell chime, and they cheerfully made their way back inside.

As they neared the Great Hall, the two were able to see Albus and Minerva making their way towards the Hall as well, coming from the opposite direction. Maggie was cuddled into Albus's arm, surrounded by his flowing beard. The two smiled as they caught sight of Hermione and Lisa, and greeted them warmly when both pairs reached the doors.

"Hello, Lisa, how was your trip back?" Albus asked warmly, smiling affectionately at the two women.

"Hello Albus, Minerva. It was wonderful, thank you. I'm just glad to be back," Lisa answered, smiling back.

"It's nice to have you back, dear. I see you have already met Hermione," Minerva said.

"Oh, yes, we met this morning when we accidentally ran into each other," Lisa answered as Hermione blushed slightly.

"I was still fairly upset about what was said at breakfast, and I wasn't watching where I was going," she said sheepishly.

"It was my fault as well, though. I didn't look while turning the corner. But anyway, we've spent the morning getting to know each other. And from your descriptions, I can assume that this darling little girl is Maggie?" she asked, looking down at the squirming bundle in Albus's arms.

Hermione smiled lovingly at her daughter. "Yes, this is Maggie. I do hope she was no trouble for you two. Thank you for watching her. I just needed a little time to blow off some steam," she said, looking apologetically at the two older Professors.

"Nonsense, like she could be anything but a perfect darling!" Minerva protested.

The four laughed when Lisa started fussing and whimpering right after Minerva finished her sentence.

Lisa sniggered behind her hand and whispered to Hermione as Albus and Minerva once again began fussing over her child, "Looks like this one is going to be completely spoiled by way too many people by the time she gets her Hogwarts letter."

Hermione sighed dramatically, "Yes, I know! I'll just _have_ to find a way to deal with all these people who want to look after the kids for me, so that I could have some time to myself. Whatever will I do?" the two burst out laughing, quickly joined by Minerva and Albus, who handed Maggie back to Hermione.

"Shall we?" he asked, opening one of the doors to the hall and gesturing for the ladies to enter first.

"Why thank you, Albus," Minerva said and swept past him, soon followed by the others.

~*~*~*~*~

A/N-Sorry for the delay, but it's been hard trying to get onto a computer to write. Hope everyone isn't too disappointed by the amount of time since the last update, but I think I made up for it with the long chapter. A new one should be coming fairly soon, I've already started writing it. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, hope you'll review!!


	4. Chapter Four

The Road Home

Chapter Four

Upon entering the Great Hall, the four made their way to the Head Table. Hermione immediately began searching for her son and Severus. When she didn't find them, she assumed they were still in the dungeons, a thought that was confirmed when Sirius called to her.

"They were still there last time I checked. Severus and Cam had just started working on the Dreamless Sleep potions," he said. At her answering smile, he went back to shoveling food into his mouth, reminding her greatly of Ron.

Turning back to her own plate, she began filling it with food as she continued her conversation with Lisa. After several minutes, several of the other professors began arriving and the table started to fill up. She was introduced to those professors who had taken positions in the years she had been absent, a total of four others, not counting Lisa. She and the Herbology Professor were the only new teachers this year. Albus mentioned that the staff would meet the young man the next day, for he hadn't arrived yet.

She was fairly shocked to see Padma Patil at the table. After reintroducing herself, Hermione found that Padma had shared the love of Divinations with her twin, Parvati, and had taken over Sybil Trelawney's position two years earlier. Upon hearing this, Hermione smiled widely and gave an internal sigh of relief. She had not been looking forward to working with that dragonfly. She and Padma talked of Parvati, who to Hermione's surprise had dropped the subject of Divination and was currently a very successful and well-known lawyer in the Magical community. She sent her regards to Parvati before turning and introducing herself to the man on her right.

Matthias Renaldo was the Ancient Runes Professor, and had been for the past five years. Hermione remembered, with a pang of sorrow, that her professor had been killed in the last rebellious attacks of the remaining Death Eaters after Voldemort was defeated. Matthias was several years older than her and appeared to be very nice, and quite interesting. 

The two were quite engaged in a discussion of certain runes when Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. Slightly uncomfortable, yet waving it off as just the chills, she continued her conversation with Matthias. When, a few seconds later, another chill ran down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, she sat up straight and looked around.

"Are you alright?" Matthias asked, concerned and not just a little confused.

"I…I don't know," Hermione replied, trying to figure out what it was that felt…wrong. She did not know what it was, just that something definitely was not right.

Her stomach tightened as another chill ran through her body. Quickly excusing herself, she approached Albus and Minerva, who was feeding Maggie. Bending down, she made sure everything was alright with her daughter.

"Hermione, are you alright, dear?" Albus asked, seeing her now panicked expression and the compulsive way she was inspecting her daughter.

"I'm not sure. Something's wrong…something-" her head snapped up suddenly. "Cam!" she whispered, an underlying tone of fear and panic in her voice, before practically thrusting Maggie back into Minerva's arms. She then spun on her heels and ran as fast as she could out of the Hall. Not even two seconds later, Albus and Sirius were following her.

Hermione tore through the halls, frantic with worry. She didn't know why or how she knew that Cam was in trouble, she just all of a sudden knew that he was. All she could do was run as fast as she could towards the dungeons, while images of him dead or irreparably hurt due to a potion or explosion ran through her head.

Finally, they were stepping off of the last step of the stairs that connected to the entrance of the Potions corridor. The three were immediately accosted by the smell of burning word, as well as the acrid smell of something else burning. The hallway was filled with smoke that was pouring out of the Potions doorway. With a wave of his hand, Albus cleared the hallways of the smoke and the smell. This didn't do as much good as he hoped, since both the smell and the smoke were still overflowing from the room itself.

As they quickly made their way to the door, Hermione willed herself to relax and let her Medi-witch instincts take over. 

"You said they were working on Dreamless Sleep?" she asked Sirius as they reached the door.

At his nod, she nodded in return before entering the room, followed by the two men. At Albus's questioning glance, which she could barely see because of the smoke, she nodded again. He obviously saw it, for a second later most of the smoke in the room was gone. What was left of the wooden table Severus had been working on was still smoking, still giving off the smell from the hallway.

Quickly searching the room for the two occupants, she found them lying in a heap by the far wall. Judging by the color and position of the two different robes, Cam was underneath Severus. Quickly yet carefully making her way over to them, trying not to touch the potion that was covering everything, she finally realized what the acrid smell was. 

Hurriedly, she cast the spells to check his vitals and stability. Satisfied that he was stable, yet seeing that the potion was eating through Severus' robes even faster than before, she cried, "Quick, Albus, lift Severus over to there. We need to get him out of his robes NOW!" Albus immediately levitated the unconscious man onto the table that Sirius quickly cleaned off, and Hermione charmed his outer robes off his back. Swiftly checking for any more signs of the potion eating through the clothing, she removed his long-sleeved black shirt as well before being satisfied that the rest of his clothes were potion free. Now that he was only in his pants and short-sleeves, she saw that his hands and one side of his face had come in contact with the potion.

"Shit!" she cried softly as she tried to discern how much he had touched. "Damnit! Too much!" she murmured angrily,  before casting a spell that would stop the ugly boils from spreading or popping, before casting another that would sooth the pain for the moment.

"What's too much?" Sirius asked, surprising her out of her concentration.

"He's come in contact with too much of the potion. We need to get him to the Infirmary," she said before turning back to Severus. When she was sure that he was stable enough to be moved without magic, she quickly made her way over to the other unconscious form on the floor.

While her work with Severus had taken less than three minutes, they had been almost agony for her. While knowing that because Severus had been covering Cam, he had received the brunt of the explosion and therefore had needed her immediate attention, it did not mean that she still was not frantic with worry about her son. 

As soon as she was finished with Severus, she quickly checked Cam's vitals so she could have Albus levitate him as well.

"Albus, I need you to lift Cam as well, in case his robes were touched by the potion," she said. As Albus levitated Cam, and Sirius cleaned off another area, Hermione removed Cam's outer robes before he was moved onto the table.

He had been lucky, she saw. Only parts of his outer robes had been touched by the potion, so little that there were only tiny holes in the robes. Mentally thanking Severus with all her being, she checked for any other damage. She frowned as she saw the deep gash on the side of his head, presumably from when he had hit the wall. Quickly stopping the blood, she cast a temporary spell that would enable her to move him without the gash beginning to bleed again.

"We have to move them to the Infirmary. It's too risky healing them here, where they could be contaminated by the remnants of the potion," she said by way of explanation before sweeping her son into her arms. At Sirius' questioning glance, she just replied "No magic, I don't know how it would react to the botched potion, but I don't really want to find out." 

Seeing that Albus had picked up Severus, showing a hidden, yet not very surprising strength, she led the way out of the room. They traveled as fast as they could back towards the Infirmary, through the many twists and turns of the corridors and up many flights of stairs. Never before had Hermione realized what a trek it was from the dungeons, even with the shortcuts, and quickly began to tire. The weight of her son was getting harder and harder to bear at the pace they were going, and she started slowing down. Without warning, Sirius suddenly appeared by her side and took Cam from her without a word. With a thankful glance in his direction, they resumed their original speedy pace through the halls.

Finally climbing the last staircase, they entered the main level. Following the twisting corridors, they found themselves walking past the Great Hall. At the unexpected disappearance of the three adults, the rest of the staff members had made their way out into the hallway. When Minerva saw the three adults approaching with Severus and Cam in tow, she quickly shooed the rest of the staff off to the side of the hallway so they could pass. Hermione shot Minerva a grateful look as she flew past, followed closely by the men behind her. As the small group passed the congregated staff members, whispering and questions broke out as everyone tried to figure out what had happened.

Finally reaching the hallway containing the Infirmary, dread filled Hermione as she heard an evil cackle, just as Peeves materialized into the air in front of them. Hanging upside down and holding a fairly large ink-bomb, he blew a raspberry at them before singing, "Won't let you pass! Won't let you pass! Not if you don't have the password! Won't let you pass!"

As they unsuccessfully tried to get past him, Hermione pleaded anxiously, "Peeves! Please move!"

As she continued to plead with him, and as he refused to move, Albus finally stepped forward and drew himself up to his full height. His eyes were flashing dangerously and he was practically oozing power as he bellowed, "PEEVES!"

The three others in the hallway all flinched at the dangerous expression and tone of voice. Never before had any of them seen the Headmaster anything more than slightly angry. Never had they seen him this furious, never angry enough to radiate such power.

Hermione and Sirius would have laughed at Peeves' meek answer, "Yes, Headmaster, sir. So sorry, Headmaster, sir," as he cowered and zoomed away if the situation hadn't have been so serious. As it was, the three continued on their, bursting into the Infirmary seconds later.

"Lay them down in there," Hermione directed, waving her hand in the direction of one of the private rooms in the back of the Infirmary. She quickly returned with necessary supplies and wand in hand. She shooed Albus and Sirius out of the room and went to work.

~*~*~*~*~

Three hours later, an exhausted Medi-witch walked into the outer room. Sirius, Albus and Minerva, holding Maggie of course, all rose to greet her as she emerged.

Albus quickly directed her into a chair, where she promptly conjured some chocolate to eat. After taking the first bite and feeling the initial warmth spreading through her body, she turned to the others.

"How are they? Are they alright?" Albus asked in concern.

She nodded wearily and let herself sink into the back of the chair as she finished off her chocolate.

"How's Cam?" Minerva asked, knowing her younger friend had been frantic with worry for her son.

"He's fine, he's sleeping. He only suffered a concussion from the explosion. There was a nasty cut from the impact of hitting the wall. He wasn't affected by the potion because Severus threw himself between Cam and the potion, completely blocking Cam," she said, the relief and gratitude apparent in her voice.

"And Severus?" Albus asked, noting that something was definitely bothering his Medi-witch. His intuition proved correct as a troubled look came over her face.

"Thankfully we got there in time to prevent any irreparable damage," she said. She paused, unsure of how to proceed. "If we had gotten here any later, or waited just a couple of minutes to get Severus' robes off, he would be even worse off than he is now."

When she didn't say anything further, Albus prodded gently, "But…"

Hermione sighed, and the three tensed slightly and prepared themselves for bad news.

"Technically, everything is fine. His vitals are all normal, his condition is stable, no broken bones, etc. The damn potion is the problem. Because of it, he's in a magically induced coma."

"What did the potion do, exactly?" Sirius asked.

"Don't you remember anything from Potion's class, Sirius?" Hermione asked with an extremely faint smile. He shook his head no, and she smiled again. "They were working on the Dreamless Sleep potion and the only way this potion ever explodes, is by adding too much of the Lacewing Flies. They react negatively with the Bicorn Horn, resulting in the explosion. Any other mistake made while brewing, whether by brewing out of order or by adding too much or little of something else, only results in just a ruined potion. When too much Lacewing is added, though, the potion morphs into a different potion, and then explodes. So what Severus was hit with was a variation of the Dreamless Sleep potion itself."

"So he is just sleeping?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Hermione shook her head. "Close, but not exactly. He is sleeping, since the mutated potion does cause a person to sleep, like the Dreamless Sleep. However, the new potion creates the opposite effect of the Dreamless Sleep."

"Wouldn't that just have him not sleep then? I don't understand the problem," Sirius said, confused.

Hermione would have laughed at his naivety, but the situation was too dire. Albus understood what she was saying however, if his eyes widening in concern was any indication.

"A Dreamless Sleep potion does put a person to sleep, but not in the way that you think. There are many different steps in the sleep cycle. In all of them, a person does dream, no matter what potion is taken or spell cast. The dreams that a person remembers, however, are in the first and last stages of sleep only. The Dreamless Sleep potion basically has the person's body move from being awake into the deepest sleep possible, skipping all the other levels on the way. While the person is still dreaming here, he/she cannot and will not remember any of it. 

"When the potion explodes, it first mutates into a similar potion. This potion, however, induces the opposite effect. It essentially sends and traps the person into the stage where one dreams vividly. No one knows why this happens, but the dreams are also enhanced, giving them a life-like quality. Unfortunately, this also creates the illusion that the person isn't actually dreaming, but is awake. This eliminates the reflex we have of waking up to actually end the dream. That's why it appears Severus is in a magically-induced coma," she finished.

There was silence for several minutes before Albus quietly asked, "How long will he be like this?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. The other times I've seen this have never, ever been this bad. You can't wake a person up from this, he has to mentally fight the effects of the potion and wake naturally. Usually, this takes four or five days, a week at most. But these people were not exposed to even half as much as what Severus was exposed to. I'm afraid that with the amount of contact he had with the potion, he could wake up in anywhere from a couple of weeks, to eight or nine months," she finished sadly.

She smiled grimly as her companions gasped in shock and Albus closed his eyes as if in defeat. "I know."

"And there's nothing you can do further?" he asked, his characteristically sparkling eyes dull with concern and fear for his friend. Hermione ached for the elderly man in front of her, so used to being able to ease people's suffering, suddenly powerless as his close friend lay immobile in the next room.

Hermione shook her head. "Not as of right now. But I intend to Owl my teachers and colleagues for ideas as to how to get him out of this state before then. There are some possibilities that might arise, but I have no idea how well any of the options will work, or even if we should try them. For right now, I've made Severus as comfortable as humanly possible. The only thing we can do now is wait."

Albus nodded to her gratefully. "I'm sure you will be able to think of something," he said. Hermione was slightly uncomfortable as he gazed at her intently. Seeing something that the others hadn't, he cleared his throat. "Now, I think it would be best if Hermione got some rest. Minerva, Sirius if you would excuse the two of us, I need to have a word with Hermione before she rests."

"Of course, Albus," Sirius stated. He rose and waited for Minerva to hand Maggie to Hermione before the two walked out of the Infirmary with nods of farewell.

Once the two were back in the hallway and it was clear they were not returning, Albus turned to her and fixed her with another intense gaze. "You are not telling me something, child," he commented softly.

Unsurprised by his ability to discern that she was keeping something from him, she figured it would be easier to just tell the truth. "You're right, I'm not. I did not want to distress you or the others any further than I already have," she answered equally softly and seriously.

Albus smiled slightly and patted her hand. "Child, thank you for trying to protect us. But now that it is just you and I, I want to know what it is that you are not telling me."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "It has to do with a side effect of the potion," she started. Several seconds passed as she tried figure out a way to dole out bad news as easy as she could. "Albus, the botched potion does more than just fixate the person in a reality-like dream world. The dreams they will be subjected to are, more often than not, ones that the person has had before. The more times someone has a recurring dream previous to being exposed to the potion, the more likely it will be that this dream will appear several times in this permanent dream state," she finished, leaving Albus to come to put the rest together.

Albus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he did, indeed, put two and two together. He suddenly looked extremely weary, very much like the elderly man that he was. "It does not help that his most recurring dreams include nightmares from his life as a Death Eater, does it," he asked softly.

"No, it does not," she answered. "I wasn't positive, but I was afraid that he suffered from nightmares in the past. This can make it extremely difficult, Albus. He's going to be suffering a great deal, trapped in his nightmares. He's going to think that they are real, that he's actually living through them again. I don't know how long it will take him to realize that he's actually dreaming. Maybe, if we are lucky, he'll realize what happened and recognize that he's stuck in his dream state. But that very rarely is the case, even for Potion Masters."

When she paused for several minutes and began to twist her shirt in her hands, Albus looked up at her. "There's more, isn't there?"

Hermione nodded sadly, dreading saying what she knew had to be said. "There's a chance that…if Severus doesn't realize that he's dreaming…I don't know how long he'll be able to stay in there, being subjected to his nightmares over and over before…well…" she stuttered, not quite knowing how to say what she meant.

"You're afraid he might think it was real and try to take his own life," Albus stated so softly it was almost a whisper.

At her nod, he sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. Never before had Hermione seen such a display of open sorrow and helplessness from the Headmaster. It unnerved her, which did nothing to help her already scattered nerves.

"I don't know what kind of effect that would have on his body, physically or mentally. It might release him back into the world of the living, or it might have the same effect as a Dementor's Kiss, leaving the body soulless."

A shudder ran through Albus' body at the thought before he sighed again. When he finally looked up at her, his eyes betrayed his sorrow, fear and anger. Anger that something had happened to his friend and that he was unable to stop it or to help.

"You had mentioned earlier some possibilities that might help him," he stated simply after several minutes.

Hermione exhaled before answering. "I do not want to get your hopes up. For one thing, I don't even know if there _are possibilities. And even if there were, we don't know how anything would react to the potion's current side-effects. I definitely do _not_ want to try something new with Severus only to find out that it shouldn't have been combined with the magic already in his body."_

Albus nodded in unanimous agreement at that statement.

"And, anything I might be able to try, would be towards the…darker…side of magic. Albus, we're talking about getting inside a person's head, into their dreams and memories. Even though it might be to help him escape from wherever it is he that he is trapped, it's still mind rape. And any magic having to do with that is banned by the Ministry, for good reason. I don't know if it would even work, or if we'd be able to use it in this scenario. But I will find out all I can about it, even if I know I shouldn't. Poppy might know of some way to help, and I'm going to be Owling my colleagues back in America to see if they know of anything. I don't want you to get your hopes up about a cure, but I don't want you to lose hope completely. Severus is not a lost cause. I won't let him die, understand?" she asked viciously, more towards herself than at Albus.

Albus seemed to understand this fact, for he smiled a little and patted her hand. "Thank you Hermione. I know that you wouldn't just give up on him, and that you will work your hardest for a cure. But," he said, rising to his feet and pulling her up as well, "you have been working far too hard today. I insist that you spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping, until someone comes to get you for dinner. Minerva, Sirius and I will take turns sitting by Cam and Severus," he said as she started to protest and motion towards her patients. "We will wake you immediately if there is any change in either of them. And I promise I won't ban you from all-night vigils," he joked, seemingly pulling himself back together.

Hermione laughed weakly as she let herself be pulled towards the entrance of her quarters. Saying goodbye to Albus, she was just about to walk through when she heard, "Thank you, Hermione."

She turned and embraced the elder wizard before entering her quarters. Quickly making her way to her quarters, she gently placed Maggie in her crib. Looking down on her sleeping daughter, a shudder ran down her body as she finally let herself think about what had happened, and what had almost happened. She managed to change quickly into her pajamas before collapsing on the bed, sobs racking her body. Several minutes passed before she began to calm down and by the time her tears had dried, she was sound asleep.


	5. Chapter Five

The Road Home Chapter Five 

Hermione was awoken a good four hours later by Maggie's shrill crying. It had darkened considerably in the room, for which Hermione was grateful for as she struggled to open her eyes, which were red and swollen from crying herself to sleep. Finally staggering to her feet, she crossed the room quickly and stooped over the basinet to pick up her screaming daughter.

As she was returning to an upright position with Maggie ensconced in her arms, her bedroom door flew open. She squeaked in shock and quickly lit the rooms with a muttered 'Lumos' just in time to see Sirius burst into the room. He tripped over a prone shoe that had been carelessly thrown on the floor, and in a spectacular show, toppled over in a flurry of arms and legs.

Hermione choked back a laugh as Maggie abruptly stopped crying and gurgled and clapped at the entertainment, who was currently sitting dazed on the floor. Hermione made her way over to Sirius in time to help him untangle himself and remove himself from the floor.

"Sirius, what are you doing in here?" she asked curiously once he was finally upright and stable.

"We heard Maggie crying and we didn't want her to wake you. Guess I was a little too late," he said with a cheeky grin. His face flushed a brilliant shade of red as he noticed what she was wearing. Her loose comfortable sweatpants and drifted lower on her hips while she was tossing and turning in her sleep, and the tank top she was wearing was quite revealing, especially when not wearing a bra, which she currently wasn't. Many Pureblood wizards and witches were still _extremely old-fashioned when it came to apparel. So to Sirius, Hermione might as well have been wearing underwear only, which would explain the flush and the stuttering coming from the usually relaxed and easy-going man._

Chuckling to herself at his expression of shock and unease, Hermione was far from embarrassed about Sirius seeing her dressed this way, especially since she was used to walking around her house on weekends dressed as she was (although usually she was wearing a bra). However, when she noticed that he was still staring at her, the faint stirring of desire visible in his clear eyes, unexpected and rather unwanted surges of fear and panic stole through her. Suddenly flushing and hands beginning to tremble slightly, she wrapped her free arm around herself, in protection, and stepped back slightly.

Hermione's sudden movements seemed to break whatever trance-like state Sirius had been in and he flushed red once more. 

"Well, um…" he stuttered, glancing at her both in embarrassment and concern, "I guess I'll…uh…I should be going. See you at dinner," he finally said, almost tripping again as he rushed to leave her quarters.

He hastily made his way out of her quarters and back into the Infirmary. Belatedly, he realized he probably should have waited until his face had returned to a normal shade, instead of the brilliant crimson of the blush that was still visible.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Minerva asked him in concern when he practically flew out of Hermione's quarters.

"Quite alright, thank you," he said calmly, hoping they wouldn't make a big deal out of his rushed exit or red face. As was expected, he had no such luck.

"You're quite flushed. Are you sure everything is alright?" Albus asked with a smile, his amusement clearly visible.

"Peachy," he said. "Hermione was up already when I went in," he said.

"Ah, I see." Minerva said with a knowing smirk that was rather irritating.

"I'm sure you do," Sirius answered, not quite meeting the gaze of his colleagues, yet smiling slightly at the ridiculousness of the conversation. His smile disappeared, however, as he went over the conversation from the bedroom. "She pulled away again," he stated suddenly. "There was definitely fear in her eyes and she looked as if she was shielding herself from me."

Minerva and Albus exchanged a worried glance. "Do you think he hurt her while they were married?" Minerva asked her friend.

Albus sighed. "It is quite possible that he did. You have noticed that it is only with the men that she acts like this?" the others nodded. "Maybe you and I should go ahead to dinner and let Minerva walk Hermione up to the Hall," he said to Sirius, who nodded and got up from the chair he had plopped himself into. With a wave to Minerva, the two were off.

~*~*~*~*~

After he was gone for several seconds, Hermione willed herself to relax. She was noticeably tense and still shaking slightly. She gingerly sat down on the bed, relaxing her hold on her daughter, and took several deep breaths to ease the tension. After several minutes of mental scolding on how it was just Sirius and not _him, she let out a small laugh._

His face as he looked up at her from the floor had been absolutely priceless! It was one of those dazed and disoriented looks coupled with surprise at her being up and not sleeping, and then the blush when he realized how she had been dressed. Priceless.

She laughed again before shifting her position in order to feed a squirming Maggie. After, she dressed both herself and Maggie for dinner before making her way back into the Infirmary. Minerva looked up and smiled at her as she walked in.

"Sirius was certainly tongue-tied when he came out. I haven't seen him that embarrassed about something since I caught him in the Astronomy Tower in his seventh year," she said with a knowing smile.

Hermione snorted. "I think it was my pajamas," she said and filled Minerva in on Sirius' reaction, trying not to think about her reaction to him being in the room. The two cracked a few jokes about the situation before Hermione sobered and asked, "How are they doing, any change?"

Minerva, equally somber, answered, "Cam moved a bit a while ago, just to roll over onto his stomach. He didn't wake yet, and there has been no change in Severus' condition."

Hermione nodded. "It's what I expected," said. She rose and quickly checked on her Cam and Severus before turning back to Minerva. "I take it that it's almost dinnertime?"

"Of course. How else would we get Sirius to leave?" Minerva answered with a small smile.

"Shall we? I've updated Poppy's original wards to notify me of any changes here," she mentioned as they began walking towards the hallway.

Minerva nodded, "I expected nothing less," she said. After several minutes of walking in silence, she asked, "When do you think Cam will wake up?"

"Not until tomorrow. I cast a light Sleeping Charm on him, to make sure he won't wake until morning. He probably wouldn't have anyway, but I just wanted to be sure."

Minerva stopped her with a hand on her arm, piercing Hermione with her searching gaze. "How are you doing, Hermione?" she asked softly, genuinely concerned for her friend.

Hermione paused before shrugging and smiling slightly. "I'm going to be fine. At first, I couldn't breath, you know? Then I just let my instincts take over, and didn't let myself think about it until after everyone left…Oh, Minerva, I was so angry. Angry that something almost happened to Cam, that something did happen to Severus. I was angry with Severus, for letting something happen to them, and at myself for being angry with him. But I also know, and understand, that Cam is alright, and I am so relieved and grateful to Severus for saving my son. And then I feel guilty for being grateful that Cam's fine, because Severus is in the condition that he's in…it's just this vicious cycle that I'm trying desperately not to think about!" she finished exasperated, lifting sorrowful eyes to meet Minerva's understanding ones.

Minerva nodded and pulled Hermione into a comforting embrace. 

"You have every right to feel every single one of these emotions, Hermione, and do not let yourself believe anything different, understand? And no matter what happens, both Cam and Severus will eventually be alright. Now, right now we are going to go have dinner, and then later, after you sit vigil, if you need me at all, whether its for something with Cam or something entirely different, I want you to Floo me immediately, understand?" she asked, her tone stern and demanding, yet filled with underlying concern.

Hermione smiled gratefully and nodded. "Thank you, Minerva."

The older woman returned her smile and the two finished their stroll to the hall in silence. Albus and Sirius, who were approaching from the opposite direction, met them at the doors and the four entered the hall together.

As was expected, the moment they made their appearances in the Hall, all were bombarded with questions about what had happened earlier that day. By the time dinner was over Hermione had a pounding headache and was sick to death of the sympathetic glances and comments, as well as the questions. Even those whose concern was genuine did nothing to dispel her mood, or the headache. As soon as it was possible to leave without seeming rude, or to be running away, Hermione excused herself under the pretense of checking on her patients. Nodding to Albus and Minerva, who both gave her knowing looks, she quickly made her way out of the Great Hall.

Relief filled her as soon as she exited the Hall, grateful to be away from the noise and nosy people. She strolled quickly back towards the Infirmary, lost in thought about all that happened that day. 

Upon her arrival, she sat for a short time rocking Maggie before playing with her for some time. It felt wonderful to lose herself for a short time in Maggie's excited gurgle and exclamations. Watching her daughter always relaxed Hermione, and this time was no different. Finally picking Maggie back up and placing her in her playpen, Hermione made her way over to the bed where Cam was laying. 

She was glad to see that he had moved once again. He had turned completely onto his stomach and had somehow managed to make his way to the very top left corner of the bed, almost hanging off the side. This was his customary sleeping position, one that baffled Hermione and anyone else who saw him like this. It seemed impossible that he would not fall off the bed, for that was how close to the edge he was. But he had never done it before and it was comforting for Hermione to see him in his usual sleeping position, especially after all that had happened. She gently pulled the blanket up till it reached the back of his neck before stroking his hair softly. After watching her son sleep for several more minutes, she finally bent down to kiss the part of his forehead that was not covered by his blanket. Gently stroking his hair once more, she finally stirred herself and moved over to Severus' bed.

When she had first started working on him so many hours before, he had looked completely different. The boils and cuts on his hands and face, a result of the potion, had been ugly and swollen and filled with puss and blood. She had worked quickly, stopping the boiling and cleaning his hands thoroughly before moving to his face. Once she was satisfied that they were completely clean, she had set about removing any indication that the boils had been there. She had been lucky. They had reached him just in time. The potion's contact with Severus' face had been bad, but nowhere near as brutal as his hands. Severus had thrown his hands up and over his head in order to protect himself, which had resulted in his hands receiving most of the contact with the potion. His hands… Hermione shuddered as she thought of what might have happened if they hadn't gotten there when they did. His hands could have been gnarled and ruined beyond belief if the potion had successfully eaten through the skin. And a Potion's Master without the use of his hands…

Hermione quickly cut off her line of thought, not wanting to think about what might have happened, only grateful that it hadn't. Extremely grateful. Except that she could now do nothing but wait for him to wake himself from this state. 

Hermione was interrupted from her musings by an almost inaudible moaning. Startled, she looked around for the source of the moan, only to find that it was coming from the man occupying her thoughts. Worried, she checked his stability and vitals to see if there was anything plaguing him. When everything turned up fine, she sighed and peered at his eyes.

Sure enough, they were rapidly moving back and forth under his eyelids. After several moments of silence, he moaned again, slightly louder than before. This time, his moans were accompanied by a slight shaking motion of his head. Knowing there was nothing she could really do to ease his suffering, she contented herself with placing a soothing hand on his forehead, wishing there was something she could do.

She was quite surprised when a soft voice interrupted her ruminations. 

"Is he alright?"

Hermione turned sharply to see Albus watching her sadly.

"He's reliving a nightmare," she answered softly.

They were both silent as they watched the moaning man in the bed. Every so often, his head would shake back and forth slightly, or he would flinch; some motion that betrayed the extent of the nightmare he was living.

"I thought you said he was in a coma," Albus commented.

"I did."

"Then how is he able to move and make noise?"

"It's a side effect of the potion. He is, technically, in a coma. It's just different than the normal situation."

"I see."

The silence stretched longer this time. Hermione vaguely heard Albus pulling up a chair and, out of the corner of her eye, saw him take one of Severus' hands in his own. She hadn't removed her hand from his forehead and the two remained like this in silent vigil.

Not once, for several hours, did the two move from their positions longer than for a few minutes at a time. Hermione left only long enough to put Maggie down to bed, and for two short bathroom breaks. Albus got up only once, and Hermione had no idea what he had done during his short reprieve. They sometimes switched positions, Albus' hand soothing Severus' forehead while Hermione held his hand, and vice versus. The constant contact seemed to help Severus' condition, especially when the dreams were at their worst.

The next morning found Albus and Hermione in the same positions. Hermione was pressing a cool compress to Severus' feverish forehead while Albus sat at the foot of the bed, staring off into space.

They were both shaken out of their stupors by a bone-cracking yawn from the bed next to Severus'. 

"Cam," Hermione breathed, jerking upright so fast her back popped. The two adults quickly rose and, with one last glance at Severus, moved over to Cam's bed. As Hermione took her son's hand in her own Cam was just beginning to stir, his eyes fluttering.

It was several seconds later when Cam's eyes finally opened, cloudy with sleep. "Mommy?" he asking sleepily, bringing one arm up to wipe his eyes.

Hermione's breathe caught in her throat as she willed herself not to cry.

"Morning, Baby," she said softly, affectionately brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Sleep well?"

Cam nodded and struggled to sit up. Once he was leaning against the backboard, he looked around and noticed Albus standing to one side, smiling slightly. "Poppa Albus!" he cried with a huge smile. His smile was wiped from his face as he saw the man lying in the bed next to his.

Eyes wide with fear and confusion, Cam turned back to his mother. "Mommy, why is Uncle Sevvie still sleeping? He's always awake before us," he said, glancing from Severus to Albus and back to Hermione.

"Cam, honey, when you two were making potions yesterday, something happened that caused a big explosion. Severus protected you and was hit by some of the potion. I'm afraid he's going to be…asleep…for a long time," Hermione haltingly answered, also glancing at Severus and Albus from time to time.

Cam's eyes had grown even wider at the mention of the explosion. 

"It was my fault," he whispered, staring at Severus' prone figure. Before Hermione or Albus had a chance to say anything, he looked up at Hermione, tears in his eyes. "Uncle Sevvie let me p-p-play with some ingedants-" 

"Ingredients?" Albus asked with a little smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Cam nodded and continued with his story. "Uncle Sevvie was putting in those funny wing thingies, and…and…and-"

Hermione sat down on the end of his bed and tilted his head so he was facing her. "Cam, honey, did you add more of the wings when Severus went to get the next ingredient?"

Cam nodded and buried his tear-streaked face in her shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Hermione wrapped her arms around her sobbing son, rocking him slowly.

"Oh, Cam," she sighed "Shhhhh, everything will be fine, I promise. Shhhh," she soothed, rubbing comforting circles on his back as she rocked him. They sat like that until Cam's sobs had quieted and he had fallen into a light sleep.

Carefully extracting herself from her son's arms, Hermione stood quietly watching Cam sleep for several seconds, thinking of what he had just told her. A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"I'm so sorry, Albus. I should never have let Cam go down there with Severus," she said softly, turning and facing the elderly wizard.

He smiled sadly at her, shaking his head. "Nonsense. There was nothing you or anyone else could do to stop him. His mind was made up and so was Severus'."

"Yes, but now Severus is-" Hermione started, waving at a hand at Severus' bed.

Albus interrupted her. "Hermione, Severus is a Potion's Master. It was as much his fault that he let his guard down as it was Cam's for adding too much of the Lacewing. What is done is done and there is nothing we can do about it now except wait for him to wake up. As much as I dislike that fact, I understand that there is really nothing more we can do right now. I have a feeling that Cam acknowledging that what he did was wrong, and seeing what happened to Severus as a result is an effective enough punishment for what happened. One only has to look at him to tell that he is truly sorry and crushed by what he has done. And, as you mentioned to us and to Cam, everything will be alright."

Hermione sighed and shook her head before quietly answering, "I know. Logically and in my head, I know that everything you've said is true. But I still…I can't help thinking of what might have happened if I had never allowed Cam down there, or if someone had been there with him, or if I had just warned Severus about Cam's curious and playful nature…anything to have been able to prevent this," she finished, waving her hand in a circle, motioning to the prone figures on either side of them.

"Hermione," Albus said softly, taking her hand in his. "You cannot blame yourself for something that you had no control over. And if you do, you will be overcome with guilt and unable to function as successfully as you usually do. Do not look so surprised, it is a characteristic of many Gryffindors. But mostly, it is a characteristic of a worried friend." 

He paused here and looking at her seriously for a moment. "Now, I know you do not particularly believe in fate or Divination and the likes. But in my opinion, everything that happens happens for a reason. There might have been a way to prevent what happened in the dungeons, but if it was meant to be then whatever you or anyone else could have said or done would have made no difference. Severus would still be in this coma and you would be here, worrying about his safety. All we can do now is wait for him to wake up and make him as comfortable as possible," he said, echoing his words from earlier.

Hermione sighed and nodded, wiping away a few stray tears that had rolled halfway down her cheeks. 

"Now then," Albus said as he stood and offered his hand to Hermione, "I believe Sirius and Minerva want to sit tonight's watch and let the two of us catch up on some sleep. Why don't you bring Cam into your quarters and then we will wait for them together," he said with a small smile.

She nodded and smiled back. "Thanks you Albus," she said before slowly gathering her son in her arms, careful so as not to wake him. Upon returning, she and Albus made their way back into the main area of the Infirmary where they sat in companionable silence, waiting for their friends.

~*~*~*~*~

The next three weeks passed slowly for everyone in the castle. News of Severus' ill-fortune spread like fire through the halls of Hogwarts, passed on by hundreds of paintings and ghosts. The staff was subdued and worried about their resident Potions professor. Albus and Hermione had relinquished their all-night vigils. Instead, the staff rotated each night, so that there was always someone sitting by his bedside should Severus' condition change in any way, and to just lend moral support for their colleague.

The air around Hogwarts was thick with tension as the Fall term drew closer and closer. Cam was rarely seen outside of the Infirmary. He spent his days quietly playing on the floor of the Infirmary, always keeping an eye on Severus and waiting for him to wake up. The only one in the castle not afflicted by anxiety and unease was Maggie. Yet even she seemed to sense the tension and had become slightly finicky as the term grew nearer.

During the last week before term, Argus Filch, Sirius and Albus repaired the destructed Potions classroom, while Hermione and Pomona Sprout restocked the classroom and storeroom with the necessary ingredients. On top of the other pre-term duties Albus had to attend to, he now also had to hire a replacement Potions professor. As it was so close to term, and the position to be filled was notoriously known as Snape's position, the spot was increasingly difficult to fill, as was seen by Albus' growing frustration. The fact that all those who were able to fill the position lacked the knowledge and talent necessary to teach first through seventh years in a school as prestigious as Hogwarts did not help matters at all. 

However, the time passed quickly and a Potions professor still had not been hired by the night before the student's arrival. So it was with a heavy heart that Albus reluctantly owled a Mister Benjamin Kettlebourn. The rest of the staff, Hermione included, was rather dreading the arrival of the new professor, especially those who had taught Mr. Kettlebourn years before. The younger staff became increasingly worried after hearing Minerva refer to him as a worthless and dim-witted fellow who was a pathetic excuse for a Potion Master's apprentice. 

Before too much worrying could be done, however, the students arrived (as they were wont to do on September first every year). With the hustle and bustle of extra bodies occupying the castle, the cloak of tension and anxiety lessened considerably. This lasted until the first day of term, when those students scheduled for Potions walked into the dungeon classroom and were greeted by a complete stranger. Within minutes after the end of the first period on the first day back the quiet whisperings were back, only days after the portraits and ghosts had settled down.

When the Hogwarts gossip mill had produced a sufficient number of crazed and extremely imaginative rumors, Albus decided to make an announcement, explaining (in general terms of course) why Professor Snape was not in the classroom. Hermione, who did not yet know how much her former professor had changed in the classroom, was quite surprised to find such a large number of concerned faces staring back up at the Head Table. 

The first weeks of the term were spent in a busy haze for Hermione. Since it was still to early in the term for anything larger than pepper up, headache or stomach ache potions, Hermione's time was split between watching over Severus, taking care of her children and researching ways to remedy Severus' condition.

As the students settled into the routine of being back, Hermione had less and less time to research find a cure, something that was making her increasingly frustrated. Cuts, burns and various bruises had to be healed regularly from classes such as Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. Transfigurations gone wrong had to be reversed. And those students who fought in the hallway had to have counter-curses cast in order to fix whatever combination of curses and hexes had been thrown at them.

However, the one class Hermione had come to dread above all other, and was growing progressively more agitated with, was Potions. Never before, in either her time spent at Hogwarts or in any of her extensive reading, had she come across such a disturbingly high number of Potions-induced accidents occurring in one term at Hogwarts. The reminder that the reason for such a large number of accidents was that Severus was not able to teach as of yet immediately brought Hermione's mind to the fact that she still had no cure, which definitely did anything and everything but help improve the Medi-witch's mood.

The cause of this extensive problem was one Benjamin Kettlebourn. Kettlebourn was the exact opposite of everything Severus Snape was and stood for. In his late-thirties, he was a good-looking fellow with soft, clean blond hair that was always pulled back out of his face. He wasn't particularly tall or magnificent, but had a friendly and inviting presence that caused those around him to notice him. He was extremely easy to please and was always quick with a smile and a compliment, and never had trouble trying to help the students in his classroom. He was good-natured and warm and inviting and always friendly, and almost the whole staff and student body (with the notable exception of Trelawney and a few select students) could not wait to get rid of him.

The once meticulously controlled and organized classes were now practically in shambles. For all that Kettlebourn was a nice and friendly guy; he knew absolutely nothing about how to handle and run a classroom, let alone how to handle twenty to thirty students each brewing their own potion. The students, who had at first rejoiced and taken advantage of this new, easy-going professor who gave little to no homework, now dreaded coming to class. 

Many students now recognized and appreciated Severus' effective teaching methods. The older students realized how useful Severus' straightforward and detailed lectures had been. Kettlebourn's lectures consisted of him randomly picking potions and giving page numbers in a book that gave little to no information on what the potion actually consisted of. Severus' lectures had contained detailed descriptions of each ingredient used, how the ingredients reacted to each other and caused a specific result, and how mixing the wrong ingredients together or in an incorrect order could affect the potion.

Because of Kettlebourn's lack of explanations, added to what Severus would call extensive coddling, the class was now fairly chaotic. And without the iron-rod control Severus kept over his classroom and storeroom, and the lack of his hawk-like surveillance and constant stalking through the room, an increasing number of careless mistakes were made, resulting in an increasing number of trips to the hospital wing. There was also a rise in the successful pilfering of Potions ingredients from Severus' storeroom, now without the extensive wards that were usually placed over the entrance. This, in turn, led to unsupervised brewing around Hogwarts, which also resulted in more Potion accidents than Hermione had ever seen before.

And so it was that on this Friday afternoon two months into the term, Hermione reached her wits end. Slamming the door to her office open with a flick of her wand, she glared furiously at the cold and fire-less fireplace and practically growled "Incendio". Grabbing a pinch of Floo powder and throwing it angrily into the fireplace, she snapped, "Headmaster's Office".

Several seconds later, Albus answered his Floo with a smile that faltered slightly when he took in the state Hermione was in. Her face was red and contorted with rage, her eyes blazing with an equal portion of concern and fury. 

"Hermione, is everything alright?" he asked immediately, seeing the sense in not keeping her waiting by wasting any time with pleasantries.

"If you don't mind, Albus, I'd like for you to come down to the Infirmary for a minute. There is something I would like for you to see," she stated, her voice even and cold with an underlying layer of steel that betrayed her anger.

"Certainly, my dear. I do hope that everything is as it should be?" he asked, getting up from behind his desk. Hermione answered his question by pursing her lips and stepping back to give Albus room to enter her office.

Seconds later, the two were walking into the Infirmary. Standing in the middle of the Infirmary where close to three quarters of this afternoon's sixth year Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff Potions class. Almost all were complaining or moaning, due to the thick greenish slime that covered them that was obviously whatever potion they had been trying to work on.

"Oh dear," Albus said, successfully hiding his twitching lips behind the curtain of his thick beard.

"Yes," Hermione answered. Looking pointedly at her employer and friend, she stated matter-of-factly, "This has to stop, Albus. In the past two months, I have by far surpassed the number of students Poppy ever had in here because of Potions."

After glancing at the students who still stood miserably in the space of the Infirmary, still covered in the slime, he said calmly, "Hermione, obviously the potion isn't harming them, or else you would have taken care of everything. I doubt the situation is actually as bad as you say it…" Albus started, but was silenced by her look of indignation.

"Not that bad Albus?" she practically squeaked, before quickly taking a few breaths to help bring her emotions under control. "The fact that this particular potion isn't dangerous is completely. beside. the. point!" she seethed, punctuating each pause with a stab of her wand as she finally removed the potion from the students (much to the collective relief of all said students). 

"The fact that I know the names of almost every student from first year to third year and quite a few of the older students should definitely say something of the teacher. Especially since I have only been here for a little over two months. Did you know that most of these students have been in here for four, maybe five potion accidents already? Accidents that could have been completely avoided if the professor knew even an infinitesimal amount about potions?" she asked him in a furious whisper, now standing directly in front of him.

There was several seconds of silence that seemed to stretch for an eternity before Albus finally sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Finish here with the students and then come and see me before dinner," he said tiredly. At her nod, he moved away from her, nodding to the students as he passed them.


End file.
